


A Land of Shadows and Blood

by Tilltheendwilliwrite



Category: InuYasha - A Feudal Fairy Tale
Genre: Angst and Feels, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Canon-Typical Violence, Drama & Romance, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Hurt/Comfort, Romance, all images are found, credit to original owners, do not repost to this or any other website, not kind to kikyou, though I put them together I take no credit for the original images, тэг заменён на Don't copy to another site
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:41:13
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 63,391
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22694770
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tilltheendwilliwrite/pseuds/Tilltheendwilliwrite
Summary: Six years have come and gone since Kagome's original fall down the well. Finally, the last battle has been fought and won, but all is not well at the end of the fight. With one selfish act, InuYasha has caused more harm than imaginable. With Kagome's last selfless act, she wishes the jewel out of existence, sacrificing herself in the process.But the Kami are not through with her yet.Sesshomaru, having discovered a soft spot inside him for the little Miko, leaves InuYasha's village and the half demon's pack without looking back, but when looking forward and honouring the promise he'd made Kagome to raise her son Shippo to be an honourable demon brings him face to face with a black Inu in her true form that smells far too familiar and has adorable ears, what is he to do but offer aid?When the new Inu proves to have no memory of her life before, but her scent haunts him like a dream, all he can do is wait to see what shape the black Inu will take when she has two feet under her again.Yet darkness lurks on the horizon. Too long have the army's of the West and Sesshomaru been gone from his lands. When he returns home, he'll find the landscape vastly changed and a land of shadows and blood waiting.
Relationships: Higurashi Kagome/Sesshoumaru, InuYasha/Kikyou (InuYasha), Miroku/Sango (InuYasha)
Comments: 192
Kudos: 494
Collections: Hainako's Collection of amazing fanfiction, Not to be misplaced





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, my lovely readers. Some of you may remember me from my days as Sweet Inu Girl on fanfiction.net, where I got my start writing for the InuYasha fandom. This, however, is not the continuation of that story. This is something new. I hope you enjoy this story as much as you loved that one and can forgive me for the extended hiatus on the other. It's still difficult to even look at the Inu fandom after three years of blood, sweat and tears, but I was hoping by dabbling in a new pairing, I will eventually find the want to return to my other story. 
> 
> As always, Happy Reading.  
Peace, Love, and InuYasha (or in this case, Sesshomaru).

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Temporary character death, angst, feels

* * *

The battle was won.

Six years after falling down the Bone Eater's Well into the Feudal Era, Kagome Higurashi stood next to the lip of it with the completed Shikon Jewel in her hand. Naraku's war had ravaged the land around her, but the well still stood, as did most of Edo, the village only partially destroyed. 

Kagome forced a smile for her friends. 

Sango and Miroku, a little beat up but otherwise whole, held onto each other while staring at the smooth skin of Miroku's palm. The fact the Wind Tunnel was gone meant they really had won. 

Shippo, Rin, and Kirara huddled near Jaken and Ah-Un, the dragon and kappa clearly exhausted but only a little battered. Shippo, her kit, looked ready to pass out at any moment, but not yet. Not when they'd finally found victory. 

The army of the West and the Wolf Clans of the North cheered and celebrated around them. The soldiers had fought well, and Kagome nodded to Kouga, a solemn thank you. He grinned at her and ran off to join his people, likely check on the wounded, and see about finally going home.

The armies of North and West played vital roles in keeping Naraku's minions at bay long enough for the small group to infiltrate the stronghold and defeat the evil half-demon. They would never have succeeded without them holding Naraku's army's attention.

Her vision darkened minutely, and Kagome forced herself to focus.

InuYasha, her first love, rough dog demon that he was, showed signs of trauma, but Kikyou - the clay Miko - was by his side, helping to clean him up. 

It hurt; by the Kamis, it hurt to see her there in what Kagome had considered her space for years. But in the last two, that place had been usurped by Kikyou - InuYasha's one true love. In truth, Kagome knew she'd only ever been a substitute for Kikyou in his mind, a place holder, and maybe a friend, but even that level of respect had waned toward the end.

Kagome's bruised and battered heart matched her bruised and battered body. She'd trusted him, but in the end, he'd gone to _ her _ as he always would. 

One year ago, when she'd gone for a walk and found Kikyou and InuYasha rutting together like animals had been the last straw on her poor heart. 

Instead of getting angry, screaming, and sitting him into the next millennium, she'd walked away and returned to camp. There, she knelt next to Sesshomaru in the dead of night, humbled herself before the Lord of the West, and asked two things. 

He'd joined their group only a few short weeks after regenerating his arm and creating a new sword, and things had been tense, but his presence offered protection with Naraku's minions around. There was strength in numbers after all, and after all the years and all the fights, Kagome respected him more than almost anyone. He was the strongest demon she'd ever met, the greatest tactician, and a formidable fighter.

On her knees beside him, she quietly asked to join his pack, to claim him as her alpha in exchange for her loyalty and protection for Shippo. He was her adopted son, and if anything should happen to her, she no longer trusted InuYasha to see Shippo properly raised as the full demon he was.

For a moment, Sesshomaru appeared confused, possibly even surprised, but he'd raised his hand, skated sharp claws through her hair, and finally cupped her chin. 

He had only one condition. That she allowed him to continue her training.

Kagome readily agreed. 

After her third year in the Feudal Era, it became blindingly apparent that she would flunk out of school. She couldn't keep splitting her time without failing in one era or the other. And as failure in the past would have dire repercussions in the future, she knew where the sacrifice needed to be made. 

She'd talked it over with her mother and grandfather and decided to set the future aside for now. She would homeschool when she could, finish when she was around, and in the meantime, train in the ways of the Feudal Era.

Though reluctant at first, Kagome laid out what was currently happening in the past, how difficult it was to collect shards, and fight when someone always seemed to need to rescue her. She needed to be stronger, faster, more powerful. If she didn't learn to save herself, she would die. 

Though teary-eyed at the thought, her mother had agreed.

Trainers were found. One for hand to hand. One for learning the way of the sword. One for the bow. Last but not least, Kagome sat down with her grandfather and _ listened _ when he spoke of shrine training and meditation for the first time. She soaked everything up like a sponge, finally invested in the old man's tales.

She fooled InuYasha for eight months before he figured out her new "exams" had nothing to do with school and everything to do with becoming more effective in their shard hunt. 

The fight they'd had upon returning to the Feudal Era left Kagome winded. The things he'd said in anger were like arrows to her heart and soul. But when he told her training to do better, be better, was futile because he would always be there to protect her, she'd given in and apologized, allowing him to make her feel guilty. She didn't mean to make him feel like she didn't trust him to have her back.

And he was there to protect her.

Until he wasn't. 

With her agreement, Sesshomaru's sharp teeth scraped gently on her throat as he whispered, "Submit."

Kagome had found her whole body softening. She bared her throat to accept the press of fangs to her flesh. It was so different from what she expected, different then what she was used to with InuYasha. He may have wanted her to submit, but she was too stubborn, too independent.

But one small word from Sesshomaru and Kagome was lost in waves of sensation. 

Then, he'd used her chin to draw her closer, and she'd found her nose under his jaw. The proximity startled her, but not as much as when he'd encouraged her to nuzzle gently. 

Rin, the small child who followed him, did so often, and if Kagome happened to lick him too, well, that was just instinct.

He released her, his face ever so slightly softened with intrigue, gave a small nod, and Kagome went to bed with no one the wiser of her deal with the devil. In the morning, she discussed what happened with Shippo and had the kit repeat her action. 

One long night later, they had a new alpha.

Almost instantly afterward, Shippo had calmed, grown more respectful, and mature with the daiyoukai's quiet influence. It was amazing what a good alpha could do.

And InuYasha didn't notice. He didn't notice when she spent the evenings reading a few feet from Sesshomaru. He didn't notice when she started walking near the rear with the daiyoukai. He barely noticed when the greater demon began calling her from the company after they'd stopped for the night to run her through her basic drills. 

Sesshomaru claimed it was to keep her skills sharp, but InuYasha disliked Kagome spending time away from camp with his brother. A few sits later, and the half-demon relented or faced cracked teeth.

InuYasha complained - loudly - about Sesshomaru training her, but by that point, Kagome no longer cared. And when Sango and Miroku voiced wonder at the calm and quiet which had taken over their ragtag band of travellers, he let Kikyou draw him one way as she and Sesshomaru went the other.

Kagome grew in the ways of demons, learning that the daiyoukai didn’t eat with them because what he ate was not anywhere near what humans ate. He’d bring back a kill cleaned and ready for cooking with one hand, while the other carried the heart and liver he would eat away from them. When, one night, he returned and dropped a stag in front of her, she’d looked up and had one of their silent conversations before Sesshomaru walked away. 

Kagome reached into the carcass, removed the heart and liver that remained, and placed them on a lovely big leaf. She wrapped them and left them near the fire for his return.

"It's his by right," she murmured when asked about it by Miroku. The choice cuts - at least to demons - went to the alpha to keep him healthy. "I'm keeping them warm for him."

After, both monk and slayer paid close attention, watching always watching, until they realized what she'd done. If it scared them or worried them, neither showed it. They just watched as InuYasha remained oblivious, and Kagome grew more serene. 

And more powerful. She'd learned an incredible amount from Sesshomaru, even going so far as to construct barriers that kept sound and smell at a minimum. Her grandfather - the lovely old fool - had given her the basics. Sesshomaru showed her so much more. 

He was far too powerful to feel more than a slight tingle when she worked with a base amount of reiki, flaring his yokai against her to help her learn. It had been intense, but she'd adjusted.

Now, as she stood there with her friends, her comrades, her pack, Kagome used everything he'd ever taught her to hide what InuYasha had wrought. 

He'd sworn to protect her and failed when she needed him most.

In the heat of battle, he'd run off, leaving Kagome alone with Naraku's reincarnation, Kagura. The wind demon had no mercy, and Kagome had returned it with equal fervour. Kagome walked away the victor of that battle, but she wasn't unscathed. Kagura's Dance of Blades had struck true, leaving Kagome bleeding slowly but steadily down her leg.

Long ago, she put off her school uniform for more practical clothing, and few could see the blood soaking into the black tunic and leggings. 

She masked her scent, knowing Naraku's defeat must happen and pushed herself too hard. Already she knew she wouldn't heal from these wounds. There would be no going home.

Even if she wanted to, the well was dead, poisoned by Naraku. She had no help but what this era offered, and that would not be enough.

She lifted her gaze to see Sesshomaru gliding toward her after speaking with his generals and sending them off, his army travelling west. She imagined they would want to get home after months of long, hard battles. 

It was now or never. If he got any closer, he would know. She could fool InuYasha's nose for a while, but rarely could she hide from Sesshomaru's. 

Lifting the Shikon Jewel, Kagome sank slowly onto the lip of the well, her eyes locked with the Lord of the West. "I wish…"

InuYasha's head lifted, as did the others, but they were too far away. They wouldn't be able to stop her.

Sesshomaru's eyes widened just enough to show his surprise. "Miko. What are you doing?"

_ Miko_. How she'd once hated when he'd called her that instead of her name. Now, it made her smile. It was a badge of honour, a way to show respect. He certainly didn't respect Kikyou, her title had always been Dead Miko, but often Kagome wondered if there wasn't a touch of affection in the title when he used it with her.

That caused Kagome's tired lips to twitch. _ I think I'll miss you most of all. _"I wish… the Kami use this jewel... however they see fit." Tears burned her eyes and spilled slowly down her cheeks. "Take care of them… Maru," she whispered for the daiyoukai's ears alone.

***

He leapt, but a flash of light blinded him, and when it disappeared, so had the Miko. His arms were empty, but the space she'd occupied was full of blood.

_ Tricky, Miko. _She'd been hiding her injuries, and they'd been mortal. A shocking wave of sadness threatened to swamp him as her kit cried out, and the others gasped. 

"Kagome!" Shippo screamed.

When the kit sought to jump in the well, Sesshomaru caught him around the middle and hummed a quiet growl. "She is gone."

"No!" the boy wailed, fighting for freedom.

He released a nearly soundless rumble, causing the boy to relent his frantic kicking. 

“We always knew it was a possibility,” Miroku murmured. “That she would be called back to the future once the jewel was gone. But… why would she just wish like that? She did not even say goodbye.”

Sesshomaru stepped away from the well, revealing the immense pool of blood. 

The slayer gasped. "Kagome! No!"

Even his half brother appeared to snap out of his frantic pawing of the dead Miko when the scent of Kagome's blood wafted freely on the breeze. 

"No, 'Gome," InuYasha whispered. "That amount of blood…" He stepped away from the dead Miko and looked down the well, already filling with the bones of old youkai. "It's closed… I hope you made it home alright, Kagome."

_ Are you a fool, brother? _ Sesshomaru wondered. Could his brother not see that amount of blood loss would have been fatal in the small Miko? Could they not tell what she'd done and why?

He walked away only to pause when the dead Miko gasped. She was surrounded in the same bright light that had taken Kagome - as they all were - causing Sesshomaru to squint against the brightness. It rippled over him with a warm hand, informing the greater demon there was nothing to fear from the passing light.

When it faded, the injuries of the monk, slayer, and his brother were gone. The land all around them was once again clean and vibrantly green. 

The dead Miko no longer smelled of clay and herbs, but flesh slowly decaying. It was the scent of all humans — the slow march toward death.

His brother's female was reborn.

He turned away, the fox kit now clinging to him, and went to where Rin, Jaken, and Ah-Un stood, healed and waiting. He placed the kit on Ah-Un's back before Rin, who clutched him in her adolescent arms. 

Tears spilled silently down her cheeks. She'd lost a touch of innocence in these hard years, but her bravery and faith in him never wavered. 

"Come." He walked away, taking the last piece of Kagome's heart with him in the form of her kit, wondering why the Kami had touched him when he had no wounds to heal. None but the scar on his heart where one small Miko had resided. 

That hole was still there, and it still bled.

As he walked into the forest, Sesshomaru looked down at the blood on his hand. A few drops were all that remained of her. He lifted his fingers to his mouth and licked the drops off, tasting the blood that always smelled so sweet. It would remain burned in his memory — a scent and flavour he would never forget.

_ This one will raise your kit, Miko. He will be your legacy. _There was nothing else he could do for her now.

Under cover of the canopy, he slowed to allow Ah-Un to catch up, and removed his mokomoko, letting the pelt fall around Rin. It clung to her and Shippo, held them in a way that would offer the comfort he in his stoic aloofness could not. 

"Milord?"

He glanced at the green toad.

"I will… miss her."

Such sentiment from the kappa was extremely rare. Especially as he'd loudly voiced his displeasure at Kagome joining their small pack.

"Hn," was all he said, well aware that he’d failed her. 

He’d failed as Kagome’s alpha.

***

"What was she thinking?" Sango asked for the fourth time as Miroku led her weeping into Kaede's hut. 

Miroku patted her arm and helped her sit in a space against the wall. When Kirara jumped in her lap and began to purr, he sent the fire cat a look of gratitude. 

"Eh? What has happened?" Kaede asked. 

The elderly Miko limped through the door, and Miroku turned to help her sit before fixing the sling, holding her broken arm. Apparently, the Kamis blessing didn't extend beyond the group who fought Naraku directly.

"Lady Kaede, Kagome… she made her wish and disappeared, but there was much blood left where she had been resting against the Bone Eater's Well," he explained.

The Miko's one eye widened in understanding, and then she sighed in despair. "She is gone?"

"She is gone," Miroku confirmed. 

"Why?" Sango whispered, burying her face in Kirara's fur.

"Sango, my darling. She was gravely, nay, mortally wounded. She made her wish and disappeared to keep us from having to watch her… die," Miroku murmured.

"Selfish wench," came from the doorway.

"InuYasha, sit!" Sango screamed. Though the kotodama around his neck did not work for her, InuYasha still flinched hard. "How dare you speak of her like that! She defeated Naraku!" Sango lurched to her feet. "And where were you? You were supposed to be with her! You were supposed to protect her!"

His ears swept back. "Kikyou needed me…"

"_Kagome needed you_!"

Miroku lunged forward when Sango's knees buckled, and wails of grief filled the hut. "She made her wish and saved us all from having to guard the burden of the Shikon Jewel. Do not _ ever _ call Kagome selfish again."

"It was a dumb wish," InuYasha huffed.

Miroku didn't know what to think. Was InuYasha being serious, or just defensive over the little Miko's loss? He didn't like to show emotions besides anger, but was this near _ indifference _ truly how InuYasha felt?

"It was the only way," Miroku murmured.

"It was not," came Kikyou's hard voice from behind InuYasha. "I could have protected the jewel."

"As a clay woman reaping souls?" Miroku shook his head. "It would have been dark in a heartbeat."

"Her wish was stupid. There were other wishes to make!" InuYasha huffed. 

Kaede snorted. "Foolishness. Kagome made the right wish or ye would not be here."

"It was a dumb one."

Sango glared at the white-haired half-demon. "And what would you have wished for?"

"Easy. Full demon status."

A selfish wish," Kaede sighed. "Ye would have warped the jewel."

Kikyou sniffed indignantly. "A wish was not needed. I could protect the Shikon for as long as I lived." 

Miroku looked at her incredulously. "You were nothing but an animated abomination stealing souls to live. You _ couldn't _ have protected nor kept that jewel pure. Instead of hating Kagome for making the one true wish, why not be grateful for her sacrifice, and the fact that _ somehow _ her wish allowed you to live!"

A shadow moved at the door and made Miroku gasp. "No… it can't be…"

"Sango? Sister?"

The woman crying in his arms looked up, gasped, and scrambled out the door to throw herself at the boy she thought lost to her. 

"Kohaku!"

Miroku stared in disbelief. "But… he died. We saw it." And it was not a recent death either but one months old. "How can this be?"

"A gift, they said," murmured Kohaku from within Sango's embrace. 

"A gift from who?"

"The Kamis."

Everyone gasped as Kohaku led a teary Sango back inside and sat down. "They said Kagome's wish was perfect. Because it was perfect, it allowed them to grant the deepest heart wish of those who fought hardest beside her. Sango's wish was to have me back, and I am grateful to be here, cleansed of Naraku's influence." 

Sango wept openly into his neck. "Kohaku…"

"Feh. How do we know he ain't another minion?" InuYasha asked.

"He's not," Sango whispered. "He's not."

"Use your nose," Miroku huffed.

The half-demon scowled but sniffed the air and finally conceded. "Smells like the kid."

"Then there be ye's answer, InuYasha. Kohaku is reborn to Sango as my sister is reborn to ye. But what is ye's wish, Miroku?"

He smiled genuinely for the first time in many months. "My heart wish has already come true. During the final battle, Sango consented to marry me should we both live. I am blessed already. To see her happy in the arms of her beloved brother is - as Kagome would say - gravy."

A moment of silence ran through the group as they each remembered Kagome in their own way until InuYasha once again disrupted the silence.

"Where's the runt? Figured he'd be in here blubbering with everyone else."

Miroku sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Why would he stay with us when Kagome assure his place with Lord Sesshomaru?"

InuYasha perked up. "What the hell you talking about, monk?"

"He speaks of how _ she _ tied herself to the alpha through submission when her dream of having you, InuYasha, died."

Kikyou's cold voice set Miroku gaping. "You knew?"

She rolled her eyes and scowled at him. "You would have to be blind not to see how she catered to his _ every _ whim."

"Not every," Miroku snapped, feeling the need to defend his friend.

"Get. Out."

He looked at Sango rising slowly like a phoenix from the ashes, anger rolling from her in waves.

"You have both been condescending, rude, and downright ignorant to Kagome and her feelings for years! I won't have it after she's dead!"

"She's dead. What's it matter?" InuYasha huffed.

Miroku moved before she could, using his staff to lift and flip InuYasha outside. "You have done enough. If you do not mourn her, then leave those who do in peace." He shot a glare at Kikyou that sent the woman following her mate.

Once they were gone, he slapped a sutra on the frame of the door, assuring InuYasha would not be able to return, giving them privacy and a semblance of peace.

"Forgive my outburst, Lady Kaede." Miroku bowed.

She waved a dismissive hand. "Come, make the tea, Hoshi. Tell this old woman of the final battle."

"You can tell her of InuYasha's failure," Sango snarled.

"Yes. There is much to tell. Much." He smiled, and it was devious, for while the Kami had come to him, and his blessing truly was Sango herself, they had not left him empty-handed. 

He placed a soundproof barrier around the hut to keep any nosy demons from spying. "Let me tell you what the Kami told me…"

***

She woke in a field of flowers under the light of the full moon. Ears like black silk twisted back and forth, listening to the night sounds in the meadow before she blinked open red eyes and took in the area. 

It was beautiful, serene, quiet. Crickets chirped, and fireflies floated lazily on the night wind. 

A yawn revealed giant white teeth in her dark muzzle as she shook her head and rose on four long, strong legs. A play bow stretched her back before she shook out her coat. 

She felt free when the wind whispered through her fur. It was nice. Peaceful.

_ Had she ever known peace? _ It was a question that blurred in her mind, leaving her struggling to remember. 

The only memory she had was one of a white world full of flowers. There, a group of people smiled benevolently, pleased with what she’d accomplished and saddened by how she’d gotten there. They’d offered her a chance at something new, something better, something that would give her all she’d ever wanted if she were willing to reach for it.

They’d sent her back. She couldn’t return as she had been, but she was granted a new form. Now, she was here; she was new; she was free. Her memories would return when they were meant to, and she didn’t worry about it. 

She wanted to run, enjoy the night, and stretch her legs. 

Trees blurred as she took off, running through the meadow. She raced over fields and along streams, watching the moon burn through the sky. She ran for miles before slowing and turning to look back the way she’d come. 

It was beautiful. The silver moon shining on shadowed nature. Trees and fields and villages. They all meshed together like a stunning work of art. Her eyes were so much stronger now, showing her such amazing details.

Mesmerized by the landscape, she didn’t notice the group of hunters until it was too late. The first spear penetrated her thick hide but bounced off a rib and fell away; the second and third sank into her thigh as she was leaping up. One caught on a tree and ripped out, leaving a gash bleeding down her hind leg while the other snapped off.

She turned with a roar, spinning and swiping massive paws at the ones that hurt her before running off when more poured out of the trees like invasive ants. 

She didn’t want to fight. She didn’t want pain. She wanted peace. She wanted freedom. 

She ran back the way she'd come, into the forest, blood dripping steadily before leaping into a river and swimming against the current. It hurt, but the water cleansed the wounds. When her breath was laboured and ragged, and she was sure the hunters couldn’t find her trail, she left the river and struggled onto the shore. 

Head hanging, muscles shaking with exhaustion, she sniffed the air looking for shelter. The scent of underground came to her and sent her limping on three legs to find the source, hoping it would be a cave big enough to hide her from those who wanted to hurt her. 

_ People. Humans. _ The whisper of memories returned but made little sense, just enough to know some were good, and some were not. These were bad men set on killing her for no other reason than she existed. It made her angry and sad.

The forest grew quiet with her slow progress, all aware of the mighty predator hurting in its midst. Nothing wanted to draw her attention lest they became her dinner, but food was the last thing on her mind. She needed a place to hide, somewhere she could go to lick her wounds and heal.

A low cliff overhang caught her attention, specifically the opening beneath it that would allow her to slink into the cave and hide as long as it was big enough. She limped up the incline and looked in. The beauty of the interior gave her pause. 

The cave slid down into a grand basin where an island rose off to the side of a freshwater lake covered in a layer of thick grass that smelled especially sweet. She looked up, noting the opening in the cave roof that allowed sunlight to filter down. It would be a lovely place to nap, giving the sun a chance to warm her without being outside.

It was a perfect den and an ideal place to recover.

She slunk inside, wary, afraid such a pretty place would be occupied already, but a careful sniff indicated no one had been there in a long time. 

There was a scent, a deep, masculine smell that made a low rumble swell in her chest. It was a warning against trespassing, but it was old, and she needed the den. 

Ignoring it, she slid down the rocky incline, limped to the edge of the water and had a short drink before jumping the narrow distance - with very little grace - to lay down and try to lick the long gash on her thigh. 

Only time would heal her wound, but a little licking never hurt anything.

***

Shippo lay distraught, curled up in white fur that smelled strangely comforting, though it was growing wet with tears. He couldn’t believe Kagome was gone. And not just gone but likely dead. 

There had been so much blood.

He didn’t know how long they’d travelled or how far away from the well, but suddenly, a large, clawed hand wrapped beneath his belly and he was moving with the white fur into the crook of a warm arm and a hard, armoured chest. He paid little attention to what was happening around him, or where he was now going, too tired and sad to care.

“The Miko would be upset by your tears.”

Shippo sighed, looking up to see Sesshomaru sitting beneath a tree, holding him against the white mokomoko. He’d never done that before. 

Shippo sat up a little straighter. “There was so much blood.”

“Hn,” he agreed. “She hid it from this one.”

He almost sounded angry, and the fox kit tilted his head. “Why would she do that?”

“Because she knew there was nothing to be done. She would not have survived her wounds. Instead, she finished her duty. Her wish was pure. What happened after, this one cannot say.”

Shippo wiped his face, his heart aching for another lost mother. “What do I do now?” he whispered. 

Golden eyes shifted to him. “You stay. This one is your alpha. We have lost our female, but you were her kit. She requested this one take over your care and training should she ever be permanently returned to her future era. This Sesshomaru can do no less now.” 

“She did?” Shippo asked, shocked.

“Hn. After the jewel, you were her first concern.”

“I miss her.” Fresh tears flooded down his face.

“You always will. But she died a warrior’s death. That is something of which you should be proud. We will remember her as she was, instead of watching her age and decay as humans always do.”

It wasn’t the most comforting speech, but given by Sesshomaru, it was oddly affirming. 

Life went on, even after death.

He snuffled and wiped his nose on his sleeve, glancing around at the dark forest. “Can I hunt a rabbit for Rin’s breakfast?” It was too late for dinner, but he could do something productive.

“Hn.” Sesshomaru tilted his head. “Do not wander far.”

Shippo jumped away and ran into the forest, nose wiggling. He hunted rabbits for the stew pot all the time. If he could find a warren or a burrow, he’d have a fat bunny ready and waiting for Rin when she woke up. 

It didn’t soften the blow of Kagome’s loss, but it gave him a way to channel his grief into something positive. 

He made his way deeper into the forest and was following a rabbit trail when the scent hit him. 

Blood. 

Lots of it.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Temporary character death, angst, feels

* * *

Shippo wavered. 

The blood was reasonably fresh, large drops of it leading away from the river he could hear and smell in the distance. He could follow the trail and see if it led to an animal they could eat, or he could return to Sesshomaru and let the daiyoukai decide.

He knew what he _ should _do, but unfortunately, he'd always been an overly curious kit, something that exasperated Kagome to no end. His feet were moving before his brain caught up.

It wasn't difficult to follow the trail. It smelled sweet, potent, powerful. The blood trail was long, and the loss great.

He was well into the hunt when he realized this was no animal but a youkai, possibly one from the battle who needed his help. 

Shippo crept onward, carefully and quietly, not wanting to end up dinner if the youkai turned out to be bad. Still, when he came across a small blood pool, something about it called to him. He watched a thick red drop slip from a leaf and fall into the puddle. Ripples of pink, sparkling power rolled with the tiny waves, enchanting. Mesmerizing.

He shook himself free and pressed onward, arriving at a low outcrop of rock. The cave inside such a place would be massive, but he needed to know if the youkai was alright. Something about the blood, the scent, it all pulled at him. 

As if compelled, he scurried up the incline to peek within. What he found left him gaping.

The cave itself was a wonder, but the demon resting within was even more so. 

He'd never seen a black Inu before. A little over half Sesshomaru's size, she lay with her head on her paws. Tufts of fur like fluffy black clouds protected her ankles. Her ears were pointed and upright, more fox-like than inu. The tips curled over, giving her an adorable puppy look. Three stripes coloured her cheeks - one pink, one bright blue, and one maroon - while a mark like a sun graced her forehead. A thick tail trailed into the water, but it was the heavy scent of blood leaking from the gash in her hind leg that made him gasp.

Without a thought for himself, Shippo rushed inside and slid down the steep shale incline. 

The noise roused the Inu, causing her to growl in warning.

Shippo stopped at the edge of the water and bowed low, remembering his training. "Lady Inu, you are injured. I seek only to assist you."

She huffed a funny sound and cocked her head as if amused by the offer, then turned and struggled to lick the gash in her leg before yelping. Another wound along her ribs gaped when she laid back on her side.

As she hadn't said no, and she didn't appear to want to eat him, Shippo popped into a balloon and floated over the water to land in the grass. 

This close, she appeared enormous even if she was smaller than Sesshomaru. "I am Shippo. May I?"

She cocked her head before a funny look crossed her face. Her nose inched closer as she sniffed him, and a low, content rumble emitted from her chest. Then the tip of her tongue flicked over him. 

_ "Kit. Shippo. Mine." _

Happy little growls escaped her after the odd declaration made in her canine voice, but he was too shocked to do more than take it. She sounded… familiar. She even smelled familiar. 

He skipped away from her grooming to check out her wounds. The one on her side had something shiny in it. 

As carefully as he could, Shippo jumped up to have a look and hissed softly. "There's a spearhead stuck in the bone!"

She whined and lowered her head. 

"I can't get it out. It's really wedged in there." Instead, he ran down her fur to look at her leg. "Wow, this is bad too." And she wasn't healing as quickly as a full-grown Inu should. 

Shippo jumped down and looked at her mournful face. "I know someone who can help. I'll be right back!" Again he popped into a bubble and floated quickly toward the exit. 

She whined and cried out, "_ Stay!" _

It almost made him turn back, but she needed help. "I'll be fast, promise!" he called, racing into the night and back into the forest.

Her lonely cry made his heart hurt.

***

When Shippo returned to their camp, Sesshomaru hummed his displeasure. "This one said not to go far."

"But-"

"Your safety is this Sesshomaru's duty."

"But I found-"

"This one does not care what you-"

"A lady inu!"

Sesshomaru's teeth clicked closed. "Explain."

The boy bounced from foot to foot, excitement and worry souring his scent. "I was after a rabbit but then found a blood trail and followed it to a cave, and she's just there! She's hurt!"

He would reprimand the kit later for doing something as reckless as following an unknown blood trail without first seeking assistance. 

"Did she give her name?" There should be no female inu this far from the west. 

Shippo shook his head. "She's in her true form. We didn't really speak."

"Hn. Show this one." He did not need the kit to show him as he could easily follow the boy's scent trail, but if Shippo had already made the first contact, it should be easier to calm the female if she grew agitated with his presence. There were so few females capable of a true form; losing one was not an option.

He glanced at Jaken, tending the fire. "Watch Rin." The girl was already asleep, curled up next to Ah-Un.

"Of course, milord," the kappa bowed.

Shippo ran while Sesshomaru glided, keeping the kit in sight. As they grew closer to their destination, he had the sinking suspicion she was in his den. His favourite den. The one he marked to keep all others away.

When they arrived, he growled low and deep in annoyance, his youki pulsing. It was his den. 

If this were some kind of set up by his mother to find him a mate, true form or not, he would damage the female.

Then her power pulsed back as she appeared like a shadow in the cave entrance, red eyes narrowed, and thoughts of retribution fled his mind. 

She snarled low in warning. _ "Kit. Come." _

Sesshomaru, for only the second time in his long life, found himself surprised, the first coming when Kagome subjugated herself to join his pack. 

He did not know this Inu, but her blood called out to him like a song. "Lady Inu. This one offers aid."

She snarled, and the froth forming around her teeth dripped and sizzled against the stone. 

Poison. Lovely. The smell of deadly acid made his head spin.

She sniffed at him, bared all her teeth, and growled, _ "My den," _ glaring at him, claiming for herself what was, rightfully, his if she recognized his scent. Then she swept her tongue around her jaws to remove her poisonous saliva and retreated within the stone walls.

Injured, wary, and claiming the kit as her own, the female could be very dangerous. Her instinct to protect and defend would be high unless he could show he wasn't a threat. 

Which he wasn't. Even if she had stolen his den without a moment of protest from Sesshomaru. 

Shippo followed without hesitation. 

Sesshomaru took a moment to center himself. 

Something wasn't right here. 

Cautiously, he approached the opening, arriving in time to watch her hop to his island while favouring her left hind leg. Another smaller slash on her side oozed slightly. 

He liked the appearance of neither. 

Once inside, he allowed his true form to emerge, causing the smaller Inu to scramble back, nearly fall off the island, and snarl a warning. 

"It's okay!" Shippo cried, holding up his hands. "Lord Sesshomaru is a great alpha. Please, let him help you."

The pleading of the kit did little to assuage the smaller inu's insecurity. Instead, Sesshomaru made his way slowly toward her, dropping to his belly at the water's edge, where he waited, tail gently sweeping through the dirt. He stayed steady, relaxed, calm, willing to let her come to him.

She relaxed slowly, eventually creeping closer. Her nose stretched over the narrow band of water between island and shale, and Sesshomaru stretched to meet her. 

He inhaled and nearly lost his form. _ No, it wasn't possible! _ He went back for another sniff, and when she didn't snap at him, he licked her face. 

When she'd relaxed enough to lay down, he rose slowly and stepped onto the island with her, gently nosing her cheek, her neck, her ear, working his way down to the first wound where a spear tip embedded in her rib. 

“_ Give this one your name, little one,” _he coaxed, grooming her with his fangs.

She cocked her head, confusion in her eyes. Her brows furrowed, and she looked down at the kit, petting her paw. _ “Name?” _

When her scent flooded with anxiety and it became clear she couldn’t remember or didn’t know, Sesshomaru hushed her with a lick to her cheek and went back to grooming her ruffled fur. 

He nibbled carefully, working his way toward the wound, one eye on the hurting female. She might be small, but her teeth were sharp. He didn't need them in his neck or leg if he hit a sensitive spot. 

Then he found her blood with his tongue, and a low, sultry purr left his chest. 

It was not possible. It wasn't. But there was no mistaking the Miko's blood, even if it now hummed with a host of new power. He'd tasted it but hours ago and knew it like one did the scent of their mother. 

It mattered little that she did not know her name. This was the Miko Kagome.

He pushed it aside to think about later. 

Using his edged tongue, he managed to lift and flick the spear tip into the lake before licking to clean and close the wound. 

She sighed in relief and immediately curled a paw around Shippo, dragging the kit in to lick him in a manner the fox wasn't enjoying. But if she were - somehow - Kagome reborn, that would explain why she and the kit almost instantly bonded.

When he nosed her flank, she growled a warning that almost made him laugh. _ "Such a modest Inu." _

She shot him a glare.

He moved down to her thigh, where the gash was deep and ragged. _ "How?" _

_ "Hunters." _

He rumbled his understanding and sat to clean her wound. It closed slowly, too slowly to his mind, and he went back to nosing and snuffling her.

_ "You must eat," _ he confirmed, suspecting as much. Her reserves were low. He would need to hunt for her.

_ "Tired. Cold." _

Yes, he supposed she would be. Her blood loss was extensive. Food could wait a little longer while they improved her circulation. 

He nudged her around until she was curled up, accepting his direction and assistance, already nearly asleep now that he'd lessened her pain. Sesshomaru laid down with her, curling entirely around her, offering warmth and protection with his larger frame and thick tail.

She lifted her head enough to nuzzle his chin and lick his muzzle before sighing, "_ Maru." _

He rumbled softly and nuzzled her ear before checking on Shippo. The kit was already asleep in the fur of her throat. 

He settled down to rest and draped his head over her shoulder as her head lay on his forelegs.

After all the battles and this last final battle, he needed to sleep. He had not truly slept in many months, running on snatches of time between watching over the pack. 

A strong pulse of youki sealed the entrances to the cave. No one would disturb them.

His last thought before exhaustion took him was at the end, Kagome had also called him Maru.

***

Pale light flooded through the opening in the cavern's roof, waking him from his peaceful slumber. It had been centuries since he'd slept with another inu in his true form. The quiet comfort and companionship it offered was not something he could easily request. That she needed it allowed him to receive as well as give. 

Slowly lifting his head, unwilling to disturb her, Sesshomaru lightly tucked his nose behind her ear and breathed deeply. Yes, it was the same. The Miko's scent permeated every strand of fur, every inch of skin. But how? And why? 

She grumbled and flicked her ear. He smirked internally. How cute were those ears with their turned over tips?

Shock saw him stiffening. 

Cute? When did words like _ cute _ enter his vocabulary?

He had a flash of Rin and sighed. That was when.

Nosing down her spine, he found the gash in her side and hummed in approval. It was barely a scrape and would leave no scar. Still, he licked it again for good measure.

He couldn't reach her thigh in this position and didn't want to dislodge her from his legs, so he sniffed delicately at the air around the wound. It no longer seeped blood, but it was still raw. Something didn't smell right with it. 

She needed to eat, then he would see about healing the leg. 

He would hunt for her, see Jaken and Ah-Un moved Rin to the den, and return to assist the black inu he was already thinking of as Kagome. 

It mattered little that she no longer looked like the human Miko. Scent and blood did not lie. The Miko was reborn. How? That he didn't know.

The back of the den held smaller caves with furs and provisions, this not being the first time they rested in this particular cavern. It offered protection and space for solitude when desired, and a lake for Rin to play in that held no danger other than what came with falling in.

Yes. He would collect his pack, and they would rest here as the Miko recovered. 

Decision made, Sesshomaru nudged her nose back to her forelegs and carefully unwound himself from her around her. It mattered little that he went slowly for her eyes opened and she looked at him with concern and curiosity the moment he stood. 

_ “This one will hunt and return with the others of his pack. Stay. Rest.” _

Her ears slicked back. _ “Stay?” _

He rumbled a low tone and licked her muzzle. “_ This one will hunt, then we will stay.” _

She whined and laid her head down, her red eyes gleaming with worry. “_ Protect kit.” _

_ “You do that very well.” _It was quiet praise but heartfelt, something he’d never said to the little Miko in her last life. 

Her humanity set her apart from him, caused him to hide more than the simplest nods or smallest growls. He could not bestow the affection he had wished to for she was mortal. Her time with him was short, nothing but a blink compared to a daiyoukai. No matter how he’d wanted to hold her to him, treat her as the alpha female of their pack, show her his regard, he had not. To allow that closeness and lose her either to death or the future would be too difficult. 

It would already be hard enough when Rin grew up, aged, and died. 

No magic could bind a human to a demon. There was no way to extend the life of a human to match that of their mate. He could not do as his father had and unlock his heart to a human who would take it with her in less than a century. 

But she was no longer human.

There was no slow scent of decay to the Inu. Not a whiff to announce an ounce of mortality. When she changed forms, he was almost certain he knew who would stand before him.

But not yet. She was weak and hungry. Even if she whined and begged for him to stay, he could not. She needed to eat. 

Still, she looked so sad and a little afraid that he paused to lick her face and rub his muzzle over hers, offering all his affection. _ “Rest. This one will protect you.” _

She rubbed her face over his cheek, her nose buried in the thick pelt of his mokomoko. _ “My den.” _

He chuckled as only an inu could. _ “Yes. Your den.” _

A content hum was her answer before she cocked her head, adorable ear tips quivering. _ “Maru?” _

He rolled his eyes. _ “If you must.” _ After all, if she wanted to call him Perfection, who was he to deny her?

She lowered her head and nipped his elbow. _ “Hungry.” _

Sesshomaru jerked his leg away, huffing an exasperated growl. _ “Bossy female. This one was leaving until you gave him those sad eyes.” _

_ “Feed us, Maru.” _

He reached out and tugged her ear. _ “Your voice is stronger.” _ The single words and broken sentences were those of a pup, but she was no puppy. She was a full-grown, if young, female sliding into the cusp of her true power. 

_ “This one hungry.” _

She batted her lashes at him, and he couldn’t help but grin, his tongue sliding without dignity from the side of his mouth. 

_ “Do not start, little one.” _ He licked the tip of her nose, making her cross-eyed. _ “This one will return. Stay hidden.” _

She huffed but lowered her head to curl up in a tight ball again. _ “Hurry.” _

When her stomach growled, Sesshomaru crossed the water and changed forms, landing at the cave entrance before looking back. “Soon, Miko,” he murmured, knowing she slept again by her deep breathing. 

***

He glided into camp and roused Rin with a slight touch before pushing Jaken from Ah-Un’s back. 

“Milord! You’re back!” Rin smiled. “Where is Shippo?”

“Hn. This one will show you. Jaken.” He looked pointedly at the kappa, picking himself off the ground. “We make haste for the den.”

The little green toad’s mouth fell open. “Yes, milord!”

As he had initially planned to return to the west, such a deviation was indeed a surprise. 

Rin gave a happy squeal before hurrying off to take care of her morning ablutions. The den was a place she loved, as they all well knew, but not a place he often ventured. It was special to him. Private. He preferred to keep it that way. 

Until now. Until a little female had found her way into it and claimed it as her own.

When Rin returned, she and Jaken hastened to Ah-Un’s back. The dragons sniffed him a little before eyeing him with interest. As their noses were better than the kappa, it didn’t surprise him that they could smell the strong scent of another upon him. 

“May Rin stop to catch a fish before we get there?” the girl asked as they began their journey to the den. 

“No. This one has provided what you need. You will cook for the kit as well.”

“Of course, milord,” Rin smiled sweetly, until she remembered why she was tasked with cooking and her smile slipped from her lips. 

“This one also has a surprise.”

“A surprise?” She cheered up instantly.

“Hn.” He said no more, just reached down and hefted the first of five kills. The two stags were large and healthy, both full of muscle. He’d swiftly broken their necks rather than deal with their blood soaking his clothes. 

The boar he’d bled out, but only because it was too large to take chances with. 

He likely could have broken its neck, but it could also have gored him as he’d tried, leaving him injured with the small female to care for. 

That would not do. 

Two neat slices with his claws tore out the boar’s jugulars, allowing the heart to empty the carcass. There was more than enough blood in the deer for the Miko. 

Lastly, his mokomoko flipped two rabbits into Jaken’s lap. “For the pups.”

“You must have a mighty hunger, Lord Sesshomaru,” Jaken said. 

“Jaken, if Lord Sesshomaru were hungry, why would he not simply eat them before returning to camp?” Rin asked. 

_ Smart girl, _ Sesshomaru fought off a smirk as he made his way quickly through the trees. 

Soon enough, the forest opened to reveal his- _ her _ den. He climbed up and entered without being threatened, his youki reaching out to the female long before they arrived. 

Her head was up when he entered, and her tail began to flick happily as he descended toward her. 

She licked her lips and whined, so intent on what he carried; she didn’t notice the dragon until Ah-Un slid down the shale past him. Her ears pinned flat, and she struggled to rise, dislodging Shippo, who landed with a thud in the grass. 

“Hey!” the kit huffed only to roll out of the way of anxious paws that would easily squish him. 

“Enough,” Sesshomaru growled. “This one said he would return with his pack.” She would injure herself further if she continued on like that. 

Kagome, as there was no doubt in his mind, the little inu was the Miko, lowered her head and whined, distress in every line of her cowering body. 

He easily jumped the waterway, placing his kill down for her before snapping the antlers from the carcasses and setting them a distance away. Then, he surged into his true form, causing Rin and Jaken to gasp. 

Shippo, he nudged with his nose. _ "Help Rin with breakfast." _

"Yes, Lord Sesshomaru!" the kit yipped and leapt away. 

Kagome whined and quivered, huddled back against the very edge of the island, her tail clamped down tight. 

He approached slowly, movements calm, and began to groom her face. The long licks soothed, finally unlocking her limbs. 

_ "Nothing to fear, little one. They are this one's pack." _

She darted a glance at the dragon and whined, _ "Hunter?" _

He snorted his amusement. _ "Rin. Pup." _

Confusion furrowed her brows as she appeared to fight for memories that weren't yet there. _ "Mine?" _

He rumbled his agreement. She'd treated Rin as her own child, no different than Shippo, for a long time. He did not mind this version of Kagome claiming her too. _ "But she was this one's first." _

Kagome huffed. Sesshomaru dug his fangs in to scratch the heavy pelt behind her neck before tugging, encouraging her toward the meat. _ "Eat. This one will see to your injury." _

_ "Hurts. Hungry. Want." _ She rose and hobbled toward the food.

"Oh, she's quite injured," Jaken murmured next to a small fire where Rin and Shippo were already preparing rabbits.

_ "Still eat you, kappa," _she snarled at Jaken.

Shippo fell over laughing, then told Rin what she said, causing the girl to giggle. "Master Jaken has no tact."

"I beg your pardon! I am very tactful!" the toad screeched. 

Sesshomaru ignored them, too intent on watching the Miko as she laid down and looked at boar and stags. Again her head was cocked as if thinking very hard.

He moved up beside her and licked her ear. _ "What is wrong?" _

She looked at him, the meat, and back at him before a low whine escaped. She lowered her head and pulled away, her neck open to him.

The easy, beautiful submission did things to his beast. Instincts raged. Desire he'd ignored for years roared to the forefront, but he fought it all back, forced it down, wondering why now.

His eyes fell on the kill, uncleaned, whole, and he understood. She didn't want to eat what was his by right. The pleasure at such a gesture, the honour she granted him, made him lightheaded. 

It was a ridiculous feeling in a daiyoukai of over nine hundred. He felt a puppy experiencing his first rut again, but he knew better. He would not push his advantage when she was still struggling to remember her own name. 

Still, she'd offered. He would not ignore the honour she bestowed.

Sesshomaru stepped closer, lifted his paw to her shoulder and lowered his jaws to her neck. Instead of grabbing her, something he'd never done to the small Miko, he gently pressed his fangs into her fur and rumbled his pleasure. Then, simply because he wanted to, he licked her face, over her jagged cheek stripes, and up to groom behind her ear. Ears that were quickly becoming an obsession.

_"This one brought them for you. He needs no sustenance_ _at this time_._ Eat."_ The choice cuts - liver and heart - would bolster her strength.

He stepped away and turned to see to her leg as she happily bit into the boar, devouring it with satisfied growls and bone-crunching.

Across the lake, he spied three gaping mouths. Jaken, Rin, and Shippo stared, but he ignored them, well aware he treated her like his mate and not simply another member of the pack. 

The kit looked from him to the black Inu and frowned, emotions warring on his face. Anger and jealousy were there, as were confusion, guilt, and sorrow. Clearly, he struggled with this new female coming in, thinking she was replacing Kagome within the pack. 

Sesshomaru could assure him that was not the case, but it would do little good. Until the black Inu changed into her more humanoid form, he would say nothing. 

The kit would trust his alpha, he said as much with his eyes, causing Shippo to look away.

There was a loud rip from the carcass she chewed on, and a splash before a long, thick shank of meat sailed through the air and slapped Jaken to the ground. 

_ "For pups," _she rumbled when the kappa squawked his displeasure at the wet, bloody piece of tenderloin. 

Sesshomaru growled in approval at her thoughtfulness, but then Kagome had always seen to them first. Even in lean times when game became scarce, and the hunters had to travel farther and farther from the battlefield to find food for the soldiers, she always saw the children ate first, all the children, even those of Edo. Even if that meant going home to her time to spend money, she didn't have to bring back foodstuffs from the future. 

When he found out what she was doing - thanks to InuYasha's yelling - Sesshomaru had sent Jaken and Ah-Un back to the west where gold coins were procured. When he presented them to Kagome, her eyes had grown huge and round and watered with unshed tears. 

She'd quietly explained that such coins were worth twenty times or more their current value in her era, plucked three from the pouch and said it might take a while to sell them, but they would be sufficient to feed much if not all of his army and their allies very well. 

He'd pressed two more into her palm and told her to give them to her family. She'd protested, but he knew now the strain she'd placed on their finances. He would repay what he could for she had more honour than any human he'd ever met, and she was pack. Her struggle was his to correct. 

The value of two more coins was nothing compared to the troves of Western wealth.

Sesshomaru pulled himself from past memories to focus on the wound, smelling off beneath his nose. It wasn't infected, as demons did not suffer infection, but it was not healing as it should. 

He laid down, a leg thrown over her so she couldn't escape, and went to work cleaning the deep gash. High up in the meat of her thigh where the spear struck deep, he caught something that made her yelp and snap at him.

_ "Desist," _ he growled.

_ "Hurts," _she whined.

When he cleaned the oozing blood away, the red, inflamed tissue parted, and he could see the shaft of a broken spear buried sideways in the wound. Every time she moved, the metal head dug deeper into her flesh, working its way toward vital tendons and arteries.

_ "This one must change forms to remove the foreign object." _He gave her no time to react, just dropped his true form, thrust his hand into the open wound and wrenched out the invading weapon.

She bellowed a roar, then cried out like a puppy, finally settling to whine and whimper, staring at him with betrayal in her eyes.

Shippo appeared as a bubble with Rin on his back, popping as they landed beside the Miko. 

"It's okay," the kit murmured, evidently as compassionate as his mother when the boy began to stroke small hands over her face now lying in the grass as she stared accusingly at Sesshomaru. "It had to come out."

"Sometimes fast is better," Rin agreed. "Lady Kagome told me that." 

Rin also ran her hands over the black muzzle before leaning into her cheek with a wide arm hug, but Sesshomaru watched red eyes puzzle over the name Kagome, reaching for something only for the memory to fizzle.

She licked both children, still watching him warily as he returned to his true form and went back to cleaning and healing her wound. It closed quickly now, sealing over until barely a scar remained. 

It would take a few days for her hair to grow over, and another after that to see the internal tissues repaired, but within three days, it would be as if it never happened.

Her narrowed gaze finally left him when he moved away to lay in the grass and watch over his small pack, including the Miko now wolfing down a bloody stag. 

Rin ran over to climb up his leg and lean against his chest, sinking so deep in his thick pelt she practically disappeared. 

A quiet sound of amusement came from the crunching Inu. 

He looked up, found softness in her eyes, and stretched his nose out. He would not ask for forgiveness after hurting her. The spear had to come out, but he disliked how she'd looked at him, wary and uncertain. Like she used to in the beginning.

She crunched the second deer and leaned toward him, forgiveness there in the gesture.

Sesshomaru licked the blood from her muzzle, continuing to groom her face when she didn't pull away. 

A content rumble filled her chest, a heavy sigh followed before she stood, stretched and came over to curl her body up in the crook of his. Her head went over his hips, and she closed her eyes, evidently prepared to sleep off her full belly.

Willing to let her, Sesshomaru nudged Rin out of his fur and spoke to Shippo. _ "Go. Eat. Rest. This one will not travel for many days." _

The kit was staring at the black Inu again before turning a criticizing glare his way. 

Sesshomaru said nothing, expecting to be obeyed.

Finally, Shippo relented. "C'mon, Rin. Looks like we're gonna be here a while."

"Yay! Rin likes the den. Rin will show you her room!"

The kit popped into a balloon and collected Rin before floating away. 

Perhaps if it were any other Inu, Shippo would be justified in his anger for yes, it would appear Sesshomaru had replaced Kagome in the pack. 

What a surprise it would then be when the black Inu turned out to _ be _ Kagome.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: a little smexy and feels

* * *

It was late that night when Jaken approached the far side of the lake. 

Rin and Shippo were fast asleep, curled up together in the small cave she'd claimed a few years ago. Not so different from puppies, they preferred the company that came with a pile rather than sleeping alone.

Sesshomaru watched him come.

The little green toad stood as tall as he could and tapped his staff against the ground, gathering his courage. "Milord, a query?"

He blew out a hot gust of wind at the kappa.

"Should we not be getting back? Surely others can be sent to assist the black inu."

He pulled his lip back to bare his teeth.

"Or not!" Jaken backpedalled. "It's just… it has been some time since we have been home. You know the court grows restless. And your mother…"

He growled a warning. 

"Gracious Lady Mother," the kappa squawked. "She desires your heir-"

His snarl woke Kagome. She jolted, looked around, and zeroed in on the annoying kappa. 

_"Eat him now?" _ She licked her lips.

The kappa fainted.

Sesshomaru chuckled, and because there was no one to see, not even Ah-Un, the dragon content in his stable den where Shippo and Rin had spent the day filling it with grass, he rolled onto his back and let his paws rest on his chest, comfortable in her presence. _ "Feel better?" _

Mischief sparkled in her ruby eyes before she poked him in the chest, burying her nose in his thick fur. "_Much." _ She jerked up without warning and pounced on him, her upper body landing on his chest.

He grunted and swiftly rolled her beneath him. _ "This one is alpha." _

She blinked at him. _ "Play? _"

_ "Ah._" He gave her a hard nudge and rolled her halfway into the lake. 

Her squeal was wholly indignant when she pulled herself out. _ "Rude! _"

He laughed only to be slapped with a wet tail when she stalked to the other end of the small island. She shook herself dry and sat with her back to him, her nose in the air.

_ "No more play _ ?" he asked, only to be shot a glare over her shoulder. He rose and moved closer. _ "Are you angry?" _

She huffed and turned her head away.

_"Little one?" _ He sidled up behind her and reached to groom her ear.

Quick as a snake demon, she twisted, snagged him by his pelt and heaved with her whole body, throwing him over her shoulder, sending him tumbling into the lake.

The shock of her daring assured her success, and by the time he crawled out of the water, she'd curled up with her back to him, her nose in the air as if it served him right. 

He growled but wasn't truly angry. He did perhaps deserve it. That didn't mean he wouldn't seek retribution.

Shaking off his limbs, he walked over and flopped down on top of her, soaking her with his wet fur.

Kagome grunted and struggled. _ "Eww! Off! Wet dog!" _

He rumbled another laugh. It was easier in this form to laugh and play and tease. He bit playfully at her neck and tugged her ear. "_ You threw me in the lake." _

_ "You started it!" _

_ "Now, I'm finishing it." _ He rumbled low and deep. _ "Submit." _

_ "Don't want to," _she pouted. 

He growled and shifted off her, scruffing her gently. She huffed but turned onto her side. 

_ "Little one…" _She tried his patience.

Kagome rolled to her back and grunted at him. _ "Happy?" _

Her smart mouth hadn't faded with her change. He was glad, though, why he wasn't sure. Her tendency to challenge him with that quick wit and sharp tongue used to annoy him until he realized how brilliant she was, unlike most females of this era. 

_ "Very _." He teased her throat with his fangs, nibbled her muzzle, and slowly licked her face.

Her eyes heavy-lidded, and when he stopped, she rolled into him, not away. The sensual feel of her muzzle pushing and rubbing against his jaw made him growl, but when she added small scratches with her fangs, she left him wanting. 

_ "Maru," _ she sighed, laying her head down. 

He hummed softly and nudged her until they could curl up together. _ "Go back to sleep. This one will hunt for you again tomorrow." _

She sighed. _ "Smells like wet dog." _

_ "I am a wet dog!" _ he huffed, to her apparent amusement.

***

The second day went the same way as the first with him hunting for the black Inu while she recovered. Though her wounds had closed, she was still weak, her leg stiff with the healing, and Sesshomaru brought her more bucks and another enormous boar. 

Though she shared with the children, Shippo grew more belligerent the longer they stayed in the den. 

How the kit hadn't realized how he couldn't scent _ her _ in the black inu Sesshomaru didn't know, but the kit was trying his patience. 

As Kagome once said about InuYasha, Shippo was dancing on his last nerve.

Finally, he sent the kit, Rin, Jaken, and Ah-Un outside to reduce the tension rising in the den, then turned his attention fully to the Miko. 

Her small whine when they left was sad and a little depressed. If she noticed Shippo's odd behaviour, she said nothing, but she watched him closely as the kit had not returned to her side since the previous day.

How strange was it that they grieved for the same thing? The lost closeness of mother and son when they were separated by no more than the width of the cave.

Sesshomaru spent the quiet hours together grooming her, working his fangs over nearly every inch of her coat. She'd been filthy when he'd rolled her in the lake, twigs and mud sticking to her fur. When asked, she'd shrugged, mumbled something about a river, and closed her eyes to enjoy the attention. 

Oddly enough, he was looking forward to having her change forms. He missed her voice - surprisingly. He also hoped her shift would return her memories or at least impart to him _ how _ this had come about. Her name, memories, even her humanity were stripped away, and he wondered why?

But he would miss the closeness that came with their true forms. It was always easier to show emotion when one could act as if the instincts that came with being on four feet were stronger. Centuries had passed since he last spent this much time in this form. He'd forgotten how much he enjoyed it.

It opened doors to thoughts he'd long ago shut and locked away. Like mates. Pups. And mating. Those thoughts were especially powerful when he gave into his beast. 

Some centuries had come and gone since he'd succumbed to the power of a rut, but then, he'd never had such a divine inu to spend it with before. 

The Miko was a perfect representation of an inu-youkai. She was sleek but strong, dainty, but not weak. He was becoming obsessed with the ears that stood straight up but curled at the tips. 

Was this why she always wanted to pet InuYasha's?

Sesshomaru had never obsessed over anything but power. Now, he wanted her. His beast wanted her. But he couldn't in good conscience court the Miko until she at least knew her name. Not yet. If her memories remained distant, he would chase the female, win the female, _ mate the female. _

In truth, he already courted her. The food, the grooming, the play. All were part of it. He sensed she knew that. Her inu instincts were sharp. 

This was not a case of a human trapped in an inu’s body. She _ was _ inu. She had the instincts, the drive, the mannerisms. Add in the amount of blood she’d lost during the final battle, and the Miko would not have come out of that fight alive.

So how? Had the jewel chosen to change her? Had Kagome made a second wish? Or was this the working of the Kami she’d granted the jewel to at the end?

He wouldn’t know until she or someone else could tell him.

***

It had been two days since Miroku’s revelations, and Sango was still reeling. So much so that the pleasure of having her brother back was slightly soured. 

Having InuYasha around flaunting his relationship with Kikyou wasn’t helping either.

“Sister?” Kohaku murmured, touching her arm.

She looked up at him from her position in the grass on a hill overlooking the village. “Kohaku?”

“Are you alright?”

She shook her head. “No. I’m terribly confused,” she admitted. 

He sat beside her and looked out over the village. “About which part?”

“Kagome.” 

He didn’t ask her to elaborate, knowing she would when she had her thoughts organized, and Sango turned her gaze on him. Seeing him there hurt her heart in the best way. 

He was the boy she knew, but without the haunted, horrified look in his eyes that had been there when he’d been under Naraku’s influence. Now he'd matured. The trauma of what he’d been through, and likely his subsequent death, had given him an almost zen-like outlook on his new life. 

He wasn’t letting his past dictate his future. The things he’d done as the half-demon Naraku’s pawn were not his fault. 

Sango smiled a little, for even though he was her baby brother, he sounded years older. 

When Miroku told them of his “visitation” from the Kami, Sango could barely believe it. The Kami, pleased with Kagome’s wish, had decided to use the power of the jewel to grant each of them their heart’s desire. 

For her, that was Kohaku. For InuYasha and Kikyou, it was for Kikyou to live. Miroku, as he’d stated, was gifted with the knowledge of the jewel's end for he’d already received his heart’s desire. 

While Sesshomaru, well, the Kami hadn’t discussed what the daiyoukai’s heart’s desire was. 

Sango could guess, though. She wasn’t blind to the way the demon lord looked at Kagome. The others might not have seen it, but she did. Kagome was his alpha female, inu-youkai or not, but nothing could ever come of it for the Western Lord. 

Unlike InuYasha or the brother’s father, Sesshomaru would not - could not - take a human as his mate. His pride wouldn’t let him.

But that left Kagome. 

“If everyone received their heart’s desire, what did Kagome get?” she asked quietly. “Or was her sacrifice the catalyst to our fortune?”

“You think the Kami took her life to give me back mine?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “But… if she’d not dead, where is she?”

He said nothing for a time, then murmured, “What was Kagome’s heart wish?”

“To return to her time. Finish school. Make something of herself.”

Kohaku looked at her. “Are you sure?”

She blinked slowly and thought back over the last six years. “No… no, I think… I think she changed.”

“How so?”

“After giving up on InuYasha, on ever having a relationship with him, and choosing Sesshomaru, she grew up. It was like she became... serene. InuYasha grew more erratic, irrational, but Kagome - instead of yelling, screaming, and sitting him - became more like Sesshomaru. They fit. To watch them work together was something else. Originally, we all thought only Kagome and InuYasha could combine their attacks, but it didn’t take long to discover she could enhance Sesshomaru’s as well. When they fought together, it was beautiful. A true partnership.”

Kohaku slowly nodded, contemplation pursing his lips. “Sounds like they were more than just partners.”

“Kohaku! They didn’t have- she never- he wouldn’t-” Her face was red by the time she finished protesting.

Her brother chuckled, laughing at her. “I didn’t mean they were mating.” Her cheeks burned a little hotter. “But if she were a demon? They probably would be.”

Sango covered her face with her hands. “Ugh. Why do I talk to you?”

“Because Miroku is worse?” 

She groaned and went over backward to stare at the clouds, watching the sunset paint them in vibrant colours. “Yes, he is.”

He laid down beside her. “But, you love him.”

“I do,” she smiled. “He changed in the last few years. He learned to keep his hands to himself, and he respects me. He doesn’t flirt with everything in an apron anymore.”

“That’s good.” He nudged her with his elbow. “So, when’s the wedding?”

She groaned. “I would marry him tomorrow if all our friends…” Sango trailed off. 

“So? What are you going to do?”

Sango stared at the clouds floating by. If the Kami had granted Kagome a heart wish, where would she be? Not in the future, she was sure, and that left only one option. 

She turned to look at Kohaku. “You up for a little adventure?”

He grinned. “What did you have in mind?”

“Tracking down one daiyoukai to see if he knows anything.”

***

Her nose kept twitching toward the stew pot. 

Rin liked rabbit stew because Kagome liked rabbit stew and taught her how to make it, flavouring it with herbs found as they travelled. 

It didn’t surprise Sesshomaru that her nose was drawn to the smell of something familiar.

It was late, the fire was low, and the only one still awake was Shippo, feeding pieces of sticks to the flames. He was back to his sullen ways, pouting over things he knew nothing about.

_ “Want,” _ she growled, drawing Sesshomaru’s attention off the kit. 

_ “Then you must change forms.” _ He gave her an encouraging nudge and rose to his feet, stepped over her, changed into his humanoid shape, and leapt across the lake to land beside Shippo. 

The kit startled, falling from the rock he sat on. 

Sesshomaru scooped him up and turned to face the Miko. 

“Lord Sesshomaru?” Shippo asked a touch of worry in his tone. 

“This one understands you are grieving, but you will cease this attitude toward her immediately.” 

“Yes, sir,” the kit sighed. 

“This one requires your assistance in encouraging her to assume her smaller form.”

Shippo frowned. “Why? What’s wrong with her?”

“She has forgotten who she is. Will you assist this one?” He looked down at the kit, a brow arched, his face impassive. 

Shippo peered up at him for a long moment before nodding. “Okay.”

“Hn.” It was good. The kit knew when to listen to his alpha thanks to the teachings of his mother. 

They returned across the lake where the black Inu sat, towering over them, her brow furrowed in confusion. _ “How? _”

“You must focus on containing your aura. Allow it to shrink down. Compact,” he said.

“Think small!” yipped Shippo.

She blinked ruby eyes. _ “Small?” _

“Yeah! Two legs!” the fox encouraged. "Like me!" He held out his feet.

"Perhaps more like this one," Sesshomaru corrected, not wanting her to focus on giving herself furry legs.

The black Inu closed her eyes and concentrated. The rising swirl of blue youki lifted dust and sent ripples racing into waves to lap at the shore. Then, bright pink holy light erupted, momentarily blinding them.

When it cleared, a small, curvy, feminine form stood in the middle of the island. She held a thick, black mokomoko to her, covering her breasts and hiding the majority of her nudity. 

Beautiful blue-black hair fell in waves down her spine, held back by sharply pointed demon ears. Her eyes were hidden by a heavy fall of bangs, soft pink lips parted as she panted for breath, the change exhausting, but when she looked up, Shippo cried out in joy and fought to escape Sesshomaru’s iron grip.

“Kagome!”

She frowned, the name still perplexing her. “Ka-go-me?”

Her voice washed over him precisely as he remembered, making him sigh in relief. Up until this moment, he had hoped, but he had not truly believed _ she _ would return to him.

Sesshomaru glided across the grass toward her. “Miko.”

Her legs quivered. “Miko?”

“Let go! That’s mama!” Shippo cried. 

Sesshomaru growled at him. “She is weak and unstable. You will not jump on her.”

The kit visibly drooped but nodded. “I promise.”

He let the boy go, allowing him to run to the female swaying on unsteady legs. “Do not ply her with questions. She needs time.”

The fox kit’s happy tears flooded the air with salt. “I thought you died! I thought you left me!”

She continued to frown down at the kit before lowering to her knees. The action caused three black tails to flick out behind her, freezing Sesshomaru in his tracks. 

_ A hybrid? _ He’d never seen an Inu Kitsune pairing before, but then, there had never been a human Miko turned into a demon before. 

"You're… you're… part fox…" Shippo whispered, his eyes wide.

Sesshomaru stripped off his armour as she used one hand to hold her pelt to her chest while the other ruffled Shippo’s hair. 

Kagome murmured, “Died?”

“Hn,” he growled, cutting off any further questions. Shrugging out of his hankimono, the half kimono decorated in his colours, he crossed the distance and held out his hand for the little Miko. When she was back on her feet, he slipped his clothing up her arm, around her shoulders and over the other. Her mokomoko moved out of his way, maintaining her modesty, while he tied the inner ties and used his sash to narrow the waist and help contain her active tails. 

They were as erratic as inquisitive puppies, flicking, moving, and curling around his ankles. 

He did his best to ignore them.

Her backpack remained with Ah-Un's saddle, but those clothes no longer suited the stunning demoness. She deserved more, and not just because of her change, but because for all she'd done to save the land and people from the evils of Naraku. 

She had sacrificed everything, and Sesshomaru would never forget it.

Once dressed, he lifted his hands, stroked his claws over her scalp, pushed her bangs aside, and cupped her face between his palms. 

She peered up at him with her sapphire eyes, now more vibrant than ever. The three stripes of her true form resided on her cheeks, and the sun - an orange-red on her black fur - reminded him of sunrise on her smooth flesh. Yellow darkened to orange, deepened into red, and finally poured into indigo at the apex; a closed circle surrounded in heat lines, a genuinely stunning mark. 

Tri bands of colour wrapped her wrists and highlighted her body, but he did not have the right to view them, not yet, though there was nothing he could do about the bands wrapping her ankles. 

Tiny, delicate ankles with tiny delicate bands. Three around each. One pink, one blue, and one maroon, the same shade as his. 

He looked her over, ran his thumbs along her jaw, touched the tips of pointed ears, and finally lowered his head to connect them, sun meeting moon. 

“This one has missed you,” he admitted only for her.

“Was… I... gone?” she asked, voice rough with disuse.

“Yes.” He didn’t elaborate.

“Sorry?” she whispered, tilting her head.

A sound of utter pleasure left him when he brought his fangs to her throat. “Do not do it again, Miko," he whispered against her flesh. 

Shippo loudly cleared his throat. “Um, not to interrupt…”

Sesshomaru shot him a hard look, but the kit’s cheeks were pink, lessening his annoyance. “Hn?”

“Did you know?” he blurted.

“This one suspected. The blood, the scent, her actions with you.” He shrugged one shoulder, his hands gentle on her small body. When her legs quaked, the left favoured, he swept her off her feet into his arms and headed for the fire. 

She’d wanted rabbit stew after all. Such was the reason for her change. 

“Why didn’t you say something?” Shippo cried. 

“It is clear she remembers little of her former life. This one will not press her and possibly damage her recovery. Her instincts are strong. Let that be enough for now.”

The kit huffed, dissatisfied, but Sesshomaru ignored him. Shippo was not the alpha. 

When Kagome leaned toward the stew, sniffing appreciatively, Shippo jumped up and got a clean bowl, quickly filling it for Kagome as Sesshomaru sat, tucking the Miko in his lap. 

Her pelt twinned sensually with his, but it was her hand sliding up his chest to wrap around his neck and tease sharp little claws over his nape that made him growl softly to behave. 

She pouted, but when Shippo gave her the bowl with the rabbit stew, Kagome smiled, showing off short fangs. 

The kit sat on the ground in front of her, emotions warring over his face. He ran a gauntlet of disbelief, wonder, and relief that caused his eyes to water. 

"I missed you too," Shippo murmured. "I cried for a whole day."

Kagome stopped eating and whined apologetically. "Sorry?"

The kit shook his head. "It's okay. You're back now. And you left me with Lord Sesshomaru. He's a much better choice than-"

"Kit." 

Shippo glanced at him. 

"Bed."

"But!" he protested.

Sesshomaru narrowed his eyes.

Kagome arched a brow, cocked her head, and clearly remembered something when she looked down at the kit. "Bed."

"Fine! But you'd better be here in the morning!" Shippo said as he raced off to join Rin.

"Where… would I… go?" she frowned after him.

Alone again, Sesshomaru ran his hand down her back, caressing hair now softer than silk. Her tails flicked, peeking out beneath her, contained for the time being though still active. He tenderly touched her mokomoko, the black fur thick and soft as a cloud and smirked when she shivered at the light caress. 

He dropped his nose to her hair and inhaled. She'd always smelled of slightly artificial fragrances, not unpleasant but not natural. She'd called it Green Apple, a scent he was not familiar with, but now, the sweet aroma of sakura perfumed her hair with an underlying spice that enticed him. 

He admired the blue lights that shimmered in her raven tresses when he threaded his fingers through them. He admired the way the firelight played over her face. He admired the pretty claws that now tipped her fingers and toes. 

Kagome sighed, content and full after her feed of stew and leaned back against him after leaving the bowl on the ground. "Yummy."

"Mm." He stood, taking her and a burning branch with him, and headed toward the rear of the cavern where another passage led to his smaller den.

"Stay?" she worried, touching his face. 

"Bed," he murmured. "With a stop first."

She didn't question him, remaining quiet in his arms.

It was unlike the small Miko to be so passive. "Do you know how this came to be, Miko?"

She frowned, trying to remember. "Gift. They say… I made a good wish. Now, come back. New. Better. Memories come back slowly. Be happy. I am… free."

"Free?" 

What did that mean? Free from the burden of the Shikon Jewel? Free from his half brother? Free from her future life? 

Free to be… with him?

"Free," she smiled. "Heart wish." Her hand pressed to his chest. 

He didn't know what that meant. "What else do you remember?"

"Mm. Hunters. Shippo. Mine but not mine."

"He is yours. Your adopted son."

She blinked momentarily before whispering, "Thunder brothers…"

"Yes. They killed the kit's father. He has been with you ever since." He walked into his den and tossed the burning branch into the logs prepared in a pit to cast light and warmth around the interior.

The cave slowly appeared in the strengthening glow. There was a thick pile of fur in the far corner, pelts he'd collected and cured over the years, but it was the opposite side of the cave to which he took Kagome. 

Her nose twitched at the sulphur scent, mild thanks to the roof that opened out into the main cavern. Large boulders hid much of the hot spring from the rest of the den, but there were plenty of gaps.

"Bath!" she gasped, clutching his hanjuban.

A smirk twitched his lips as he set her on her feet and helped her by unwinding the long sash he'd tied around her waist. They all knew her love of bathing, an oddity of humans in this era. But when she reached for the ties of his hankimono, Sesshomaru turned away. 

"Bathe. This one will retrieve his armour." He went back out the way they'd come in, fighting the rising desire to return and join her in the water.

He was well aware that his beast had chosen her. After more than nine hundred years, the Lord of the West had found a mate worthy of his attention. 

But…

She was not in her right mind. Not yet. Her memories must return.

Sesshomaru crossed to the island where his armour had fallen, collected it and his swords, and looked up at the moon framed in the window of the cavern's roof.

_ Have you something to protect? _

His father's words echoed in his head. 

"Yes," he murmured to the moon. 

This time, he would not fail her.

***

Kagome, her name now sounding like her name - though she also liked it when Sesshomaru called her Miko - watched him go with curiosity. 

She remembered him in bits and snatches. The alpha. The warrior. The Lord. She remembered his face — him teaching her to fight. 

Fangs on her throat. 

She didn't remember him being so quick to touch her, but she knew he had protected her many times. She didn't remember his laugh, but she knew it now, as she also knew his scent.

That too, she didn't remember from before, but now, she would never get it out of her nose. He smelled fresh, crisp, like fall breezes and ocean winds. He smelled like how the moonlight felt on her skin, like silver rays of light dancing over her nerve endings. 

She remembered desire, want, _ need_. She remembered the yearning she'd tamed, leashed and muzzled. She remembered sorrow because of it. 

She remembered pain.

Not wanting to think about pain, she let Sesshomaru's clothing fall around her feet and stared into the steaming water. 

A flash of a face; a brunette female. Human. Respect. Admiration. Love. She felt all these things for her but couldn't remember her name.

Kagome ran her hand down her mokomoko and frowned. She'd wanted to do that for a long time but hadn't. Where was her pelt before?

It landed on the floor with her clothes before she stepped down into the hot water. It felt heavenly, especially on her stiff leg. 

A little exploration revealed a submerged ledge not far from where she entered the water. There were no boulders to obscure her view of the smaller den, so she sat with her arms crossed on the hot spring's ledge to watch for Sesshomaru's return. 

He entered carrying bone plate armour and swords. 

Kagome had a flash of memory. A giant inu skeleton, a sword, and one angry daiyoukai. 

She gasped and cried out in fear, pushing away from the ledge so fast she stepped on her tail and made herself yelp in pain. 

"Miko?"

_ Miko… _The word reverberated through her memories, picking out different instances when he'd used that name. It brought flashes of clothing in red and white. 

Anger. Fear. Pain. Hatred. _ Betrayal_.

She saw claws raised in threat and angry red eyes as his beast took over. Another cry of despair escaped, and she grabbed her head, temples pounding. 

_ Miko… _

"Miko?"

A hand touched her shoulder, causing Kagome to spin around and shrink away, a flood of pink radiance building between them.

A bare Sesshomaru stood in the water with her, his hands raised. "What is it, little one?"

"You… you… tried to kill me," she whispered, feeling utterly betrayed. "You hate me. Because of a sword."

His golden eyes widened in surprise. "This one does not hate you, Miko."

She could hear the affection in the name, but it didn't erase the echoes of all the times he said it with disgust. 

Kagome backed away. "Don't call me that." 

He calmly followed. "You remember how we met, this one suspects. In Father's tomb?"

"Big skeleton," she whispered, finding herself backed into the rocks.

"Yes. Where you retrieved a sword this one desired. Do you remember its name?" He stopped at the edge of the pink light emanating from her hands.

Kagome shook her head. "I hear you. Miko. Miko. _ Miko_. The revulsion. The disdain. You hate me." Her eyes burned with tears before something inside her felt like it broke with the rejection, and they began to fall.

He surged forward, a flood of green power warring against the pink. His hands locked tightly around her wrists, and his eyes glowed like burnished suns when he pinned her arms above her and bent near. "This one- _ I _ do not hate you, Kagome. There are years between what you remember and today. Hate is the furthest thing from what I feel for you."

There was nothing in his scent or eyes to indicate a lie. Only a softness to the blazing gold that hadn't been there before. "Maru…" Her power faded away, followed swiftly by his.

"Yes." A small smile twitched his lips. "For you, I will be Maru." He released one wrist to draw his knuckles down her cheek, cup her nape, and run his thumb along her jawline. "I do not hate you… _ Miko_."

He purred the word, his deep baritone rumbling, and Kagome melted. An essential part of her trembled with the sensual sound, making her want to stretch and purr as body parts clenched that had never done so before. The broken pieces slotted back together, and she sighed in relief.

Her free hand dropped to his bare chest, and she relished the heat beneath her palm as it found rock hard muscles covered in silk. She skimmed it upward until she could thread her fingers through his hair. "Soft."

"As is yours." He lowered his head and rubbed his cheek on hers before gently tilting her head so he could access her throat with his lips. 

Fangs pressed, and a whole new flood of flashes filled her mind. 

Quiet moments. Tea in the evening. Conversations with nothing but their eyes. The tall daiyoukai always, always watching out for her.

"Oh…" she whispered, falling into him. Her hand lifted to skim along his throat, caress the edge of his jaw, and lightly trace the length of his ear. "Sesshomaru."

A low rumbled growl transferred from his chest to hers, heating her, warming her, making her ache. 

She realized she was pressed to him, breast to chest, belly to belly, thigh to thigh. She could feel his interest, his ardour, ridged and hard against her soft flesh. 

His grip on her wrist loosened, but he skimmed his fingers up, over her palm, and threaded them together. The soft tease of lips over her pulse set her heart thundering in her chest. 

"I feel many things in regard to you, Kagome, none of which are hate," he whispered against her jaw, lips leaving fire in their wake.

She opened her eyes to find liquid gold watching her, inches away. Her gaze drifted down to his lips, wondering how they would taste.

He hummed softly, leaned forward, and nipped sharp fangs into her lip. It wasn't a kiss, but it wasn't entirely _not _ one either. "Finish your bath, Miko."

He tried to pull away, but she held him close, her hand fisting in his hair. "Stay?"

A curl of red seeped into his eyes. "One day. Not today."

"Why?" She gripped him tighter.

He nipped her bottom lip a second time. "You are not yet yourself. Allow your memories to return."

"I remember you!" she whined.

He chuckled and rubbed his nose on her cheek. "You must remember you; then we will discuss what comes next." When he pulled away again, Kagome let him. "Finish your bath."

It wasn't until he was halfway across the pool that Kagome remembered she was naked and sank under the water in embarrassment. 

He paused, sniffed, and glanced at her over his shoulder. "You have no reason to be embarrassed. This one is not."

He walked out of the water, his back to her, revealing perfect porcelain skin. Wet hair stuck to his flesh, highlighting the perfection of his form, hiding and showing in equal measure the maroon stripes that covered him.

Round firm buttocks appeared next, followed by thickly muscled thighs, each banded in more maroon marks. 

She wasn't sure why she was surprised by the scope of them. He walked everywhere, fought with precise, powerful movements. Perhaps it was the billowing fabric of his hakama that kept her blind to his physique. 

He lifted his hair, giving her a full view of his sculpted backside and the stripes that followed the length of his spine - the curve of his ribs, tucking in at his narrowed waist - and twisted his hair to ring out the water.

He let it fall to cling damply to his body and looked back at her over his shoulder, golden eyes flashing. The white pelt he lifted from the rocks to his shoulder before gliding away into the depths of the cave. "Come to bed, Miko."

Kagome licked her lips, struggling with memories of screams of _ pervert _ when someone - a man in blue robes - snuck into the bath, and with the instincts of the beast inside her telling her to tease him back as good as he'd given. 

The latter won out, and she crossed the pool. At the small stairs carved into the rock, she looked into the room and found him with his back to her, sliding hakama up his legs, his hanjuban already closed. 

She exited the pool, aware that he was aware of her, but he kept his eyes forward, not even glancing back. His colourful hankimono laid over a stone along with her thick pelt. 

Kagome picked up the fur and set it on her shoulder before flicking her tails outward, making them snap and shed water. They fluffed up - thankfully, as they appeared a bit rat-like - though neither the noise nor action drew the daiyoukai's gaze. 

Frustration made her roll her eyes and turn around, giving him her back as she forced the water out her hair. Then, she held up her hands and admired the colourful stripes that wrapped her wrists. 

A matching set wreathed both biceps and more began as sharp points almost meeting at the midline of her sternum. These were thin, delicate, enticing as they swooped up to follow the graceful arch of her collarbones before flowing over her shoulders and down her back. They curved in along the swell of her hips and flare of her pelvis. They framed her mound but didn't end at it, instead, wrapping around her upper thigh and finishing as three sharply pointed diagonal lines across her hamstrings. 

Three more banded each ankle matching those around her wrists, and she wondered at the reason behind her colours. All the demons she remembered with such marks - which, granted was currently only Sesshomaru - had only one colour.

She stroked the ones on her belly a final time before reaching for the hankimono. The fabric was stolen out from under her fingers, but his scent preceded him even without sound. 

"You appear to require assistance," he growled.

Kagome arched an amused brow. Was it that she required assistance, or that her nudity was getting to him?

Quick, skillful hands had her dressed from behind in mere seconds, his sash wrapped and tied before those same hands landed firmly on her waist. But Kagome wasn't yet ready to move and leaned her head back against his chest. She looked up at him as a sliver of moonlight touched them. 

"Was I taking too long?" she asked innocently.

He growled at her and took her hand to pull her across the floor. 

Kagome's tails twitched with amusement, expressing her happiness.

When he drew her to the pile of fur and knelt to pull her down with him, she hesitated. 

"Hm?"

"We never did this before," she whispered. 

"No." He tugged, and she went willingly, her mokomoko falling to curl and twine with his.

She settled onto her knees and touched his face. "We never cuddled in our true forms either."

Something flickered in his golden depths. "No." 

He pulled her down until she stretched out with him, black and white fur coiling over them both. "Why are you doing this now?"

He brushed her bangs back and let his claws linger on her cheek. "Because it wasn't enough. I lost you once. I will not lose you again."

"So you'll keep me by your side?" she whispered, the combined fur suddenly shifting her until she pressed to his chest.

Sesshomaru rolled to his back, holding her close, her head on his shoulder. "If you'll let me."

She cuddled up into the warmth he provided, her tails following the motion of her thigh when it slipped over his hakama covered leg. They were long enough to curl around his knee and wrap lightly around his calf.

Black and white, their mokomoko's covered them with thick, soft fur.

"I will," she sighed. "For as long as you'll have me."

Claws stroked lazily up and down her back. "Do not make me that promise until you remember everything," he murmured as she drifted into sleep.

**  
  
  
  
  
  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: none

* * *

She woke to gentle claws stroking her cheek and smiled. "Mm, Maru."

"Miko," he rumbled, thumb sliding over her marks. 

"What do they mean?" she asked, opening her eyes.

Patient gold peered at her through the low light filtering into the cave. "Do you not know?" 

Kagome frowned, a flash of memory returning when she was with the people in the white world. "Pink for me, blue for kitsune, maroon for inu."

"I suspected as much." He stroked the lowest stripe. "This means you have poison as I do." He moved up a line and caressed the blue. "You also appear to have kitsune magic to go with your natural talent."

She didn't ask what that natural talent was, something inside her not wanting to go there yet. Instead, she brought her hand to his face and followed the maroon stripes on his cheek.

They lay there in the dawn light, just touching as if memorizing the other. Eventually, her fingers drifted down to trace the line of his lips. "This Kagome would like it if you kissed her," she teased, her voice barely a whisper.

"When the Miko remembers her past, when she can look at this Sesshomaru without the fog of confusion, she should ask him again."

Surprised by his denial when she could feel and smell his interest, Kagome sat up and glared down at him. "Why?"

Golden eyes assessed, measured, judged. His nostrils flared, taking in everything she was giving off before he pushed up slowly and wrapped his arm around her waist. "Because I will not take what should be given with a whole heart."

She made to protest, but he growled to cut her off. 

"I will not stop at a kiss. For that reason, you must _ know _ without a doubt that I am yours. You cannot know this with holes in your memory. I will not dishonour either of us by stealing away your right to choose."

Kagome watched him for a long moment, trying to understand his resistance when it hit her. "You think there is another?" she whispered, staring at him in shock. "That I want another?"

"Can you tell me honestly there is not?"

She paled when she realized he was right. "But I know you. You're… alpha," she murmured, clinging to him, her tails twisting, mirroring her inner distress.

"Yes." He ducked his head and lapped slowly over her throat, making her squirm and thighs clench deliciously. "And I will continue to be alpha and treat you as the alpha female you are to me, but I cannot claim you without your consent. I will not. When you remember everything, then you can decide where you belong."

"My mind won't change once I remember. I desire no place but here," she sighed, pressing her lips to the underside of his jaw, nuzzling, kissing, biting down his throat to lick at the gap between his collars.

"Kagome," he warned.

"I know what I want," she purred, straddling his lap. "But I know your honour is great. I wouldn't want you to break it for me. However, I have no plans on sleeping anywhere but next to my alpha."

His hands clamped to her waist. "Miko, you push this one to his limit." 

She wriggled, her mokomoko sliding around their hips and locking them together. "Oops." She shot him a fang-filled smile as her clothing slipped from her shoulder, baring smooth skin and colourful stripes. 

"Miko," he snarled, but already his mouth was on her flesh, pushing her back, closing his teeth on her shoulder. 

He bit down hard enough to bruise, and Kagome gasped at the rapture spreading through her. Hot and wet, his tongue swept over her skin, soothing the sting he left behind before gliding up to tease her pulse point. Again teeth grabbed her, but she only moaned, loving the way he played her body like it was a weapon; one he could bend to his will.

He growled low and deep as he laid her back into the pallet of furs and loomed over her, silver hair falling like a curtain around them. "I want you. I want to strip you bare and slake my desire for you in every way." He lowered his head to trace the tip of his nose over her cheek, her jaw, down her throat and settle between the gaping collars of her clothing where he inhaled deeply. "Your scent calls out to me. It drives me to mate when no demoness has ever turned my head. I would take you as my own right now but for your loss of memories. I won't have you regretting your choice."

"Would I?" she asked softly. "Would I regret it? You know me or claim to. Can you honestly say I would be upset by my choice?" 

The flash of doubt in his eyes made her want to cry. 

Kagome released him from her mokomoko. "Go."

"Miko…" he sighed.

She snarled and shoved him from her with more strength than expected, sending him sliding across the floor of the cave. Kagome sat up and pulled her clothing together, hurt seeping from every pore. "Leave. I wish to bathe."

"You bathed last eve," he growled.

She lifted her head and glared him down. "I find I desire another. There is a scent I wish to remove from my flesh."

His features turned hard before he stood, called his mokomoko to his hand and left without another word.

Kagome waited a moment to see if he would return, then rose, stripped and walked down into the hot spring. She scrubbed her skin until it was pink and raw, then dove under the water to wash away every last bit of his scent. 

Pink power poured through her and the sweet throbbing left behind by his teeth faded away. 

Beneath the surface, she stayed, allowing her tears to mix with the hot water until she could no longer deny her body breath and broke through. There, she muffled her sobs with her hands, hoping he was far enough away that he wouldn't witness her shame. 

Even hurt and angry, she refused to use her tears as a weapon. 

***

Not even standing in the dawning light at the cavern entrance was far enough. He could hear the muffled sobs and smell the salt of tears even at this distance. 

He'd insulted her. Hurt her with his doubt at the very least, but never once in all the months they spent together had she shown him anything but respect and quiet affection, the same she bestowed on everyone. 

Her love, her heart, her desire belonged only to his half-breed brother. Time and again, he'd watched her as she stared after the retreating back of his idiot sibling and the dead Miko when they went off to tryst in the forest. Her sorrow once soured her scent, and even if she had resigned herself to never having that which she wanted, InuYasha would be a fool to turn down the demoness she'd become. If Kagome turned her attention back on the hanyou, InuYasha would be unable to resist her. 

As Sesshomaru was unable to resist her. 

His claws pierced his palms as more salt and sadness assaulted his powerful senses. He hated how she stripped him of his great control. He despised how she cracked his facade. She made him weak. 

_ No_, his beast growled. She made them want. She made them yearn and desire, but they would never be weak. Not when she needed them to be strong. 

He may doubt the depth of her feelings for now, but that did not mean he would stop subtly courting the small Miko. It didn't matter how he protested; he'd been playing his part since the moment he saw her true form. 

And when her full memories returned, he would pin the Miko to the closest flat surface and demand she accept him, choose him, _love_ _him_, for no other outcome would do.

He would have his mate, even if he had to challenge every demon in his court to do so, including InuYasha. 

In the distance, he caught the sound of her exiting the pool and knew he needed to correct his misstep before anger became resentment. As the rest of his pack slept on, no one would bear witness to what he did next.

It took mere seconds to arrive at the door to his cave, where she stood with her mokomoko wrapped around her and wet hair curling against her spine.

"I expected you to be dressed," he murmured, rather than apologize for walking in on her.

She glared at him over her shoulder. "I find I have little desire to wear _that _ again." Her fingers flicked to his discarded hankimono.

She practically pulsed with anger and insult, making him sigh silently and cross the floor. She gave him her back, haughty chin lifted, but he ignored her fit of pique to curl his fingers around her upper arms. The mark he'd left on her shoulder was gone as if it had never been, and anger surged through him before he realized she had every right to remove it. 

Her skin was pink, smelling of nothing but sweet sakura and mineral-rich spring, but he wondered if she realized her mokomoko still carried his scent. She hadn't washed him entirely away. 

"Forgive me?" he whispered, lips against her ear. "This one did not mean to insult you or hurt your feelings."

She sighed, her sweet, tender heart still beating inside this new body. "I don't want anyone else."

He sighed and laid his head on top of hers. "You say that now, but we have known each other for six years. In the first three, we were not… well with each other. The next two brought mutual respect. It is only this last one in which you have been part of my pack. Even then, I was not sure of your affection. If it was simply respect offered your alpha or if you saw this one as anything more. Before now, our… _ feelings _ would not have gone well for either of us."

"Why?" she whispered.

"That I cannot tell you. You will remember in time."

She sighed then turned to look up at him. "I don't know why I'm like this. Why would the Kami make me forget?"

"You are… different now," he said cautiously. 

He may not have much use for the Kami, but he did respect their presence in his reality. They had changed her, returned her to him in a way that he could have everything he desired if he but reached for it. For that reason, he would not rush her to remember her past, for it appeared they wished her to grow used to her new self before the old rushed in.

"I know," she sighed. "I feel different. I'm me but also… something new."

"Hn. Take now to learn the new and stop worrying about the past." He turned her to face him. "You are a strong, powerful, capable demoness. Discover what that means before you make any life-changing decisions."

She sighed but finally nodded, then glanced up at him from behind long lashes, her lids lightly highlighted with bold blue, and tilted her head. "Put it back."

A smirk pulled at his lips. "What?"

She rolled her eyes. "Fine, don't."

Kagome attempted to pull away, but he wouldn't allow it. "Miko, you try this one's patience."

A little white fang peeked at him when she gave him a sly, fox smile. "I like smelling like you," she admitted. "I've worn your scent for some time, haven't I?"

"Since you asked to be part of this one's pack," he murmured, lowering his head to scent her. Sakura and sweet spice, something that made his blood hum. 

His lips brushed her skin, and teeth scraped, tongue flicked over the soft flesh. Then he rubbed his nose along her jaw and brushed their cheeks together. "You do realize this one's scent has saturated your pelt?"

She shifted closer and repeated his actions, taking her mouth and nose over his jaw and the underside of his chin. "As mine has saturated yours."

She nipped him firmly on the chin, sapphire eyes dancing with amusement. When she walked away, her tails flicked over him, skimmed his chest and tickled his neck as she swayed toward the hot spring where her mokomoko lifted his hankimono to her. 

Kagome looked at him over her shoulder and let her fur fall, leaving her covered in not but sleek black tails and damp ebony locks.

"Dammit, woman," he growled only to realize he sounded exactly like his half-brother. It wasn't a comparison he enjoyed, but she giggled and shrugged into his clothing, setting him at ease. 

If his exasperation made her make that joyful noise, perhaps he could get over sounding like InuYasha. 

***

"Where are you going?"

Sango sighed and half-turned to face InuYasha. She'd hoped to escape the village while he was busy with Kikyou, but it appeared he'd finally detached her from his hip.

"Miroku, Kohaku, Kirarar and I are going to the old slayer's village. Now that Naraku is dead, we think it's time to see what we can salvage, whether it can be rebuilt, or if it's better to cut our losses and start over somewhere else." She exchanged a look with her two travelling companions.

It wasn't a complete lie, just not the whole truth. They would travel to the old taijya village as it was on their way west, but they would do so while hunting down Sesshomaru. 

"Feh," InuYasha huffed. "Thought you and the Monk were all gung-ho to get married?"

"We already did," Miroku smiled and kissed Sango's red cheek.

"What!" InuYasha gaped.

"Neither of us wanted to wait, nor did we want a fuss, so we announced our intentions to Headman Tsuneo. He logged into the village scroll while Kohaku and Kaede stood witness. The deed is done," she stated.

Hurt filled his face before anger covered it. "What the hell! You didn't even think to invite me?"

Kohaku frowned before stepping closer to her. "I informed Kikyou of the time and place."

InuYasha shook his head. "That's not possible! She would have told me!"

Miroku glowered at the half-demon, his arms crossed defensively. "Like she told you about Kagome's memorial? Or the celebration of life we held at Kaede's afterward?" He sneered in disgust and turned away. "Kagome was important to you. You should have been there! The whole village came to see her monument blessed, but once again, when she needed you most, you were suspiciously absent."

He strode down the road, rings jangling on his staff, causing Sango to sigh. When Miroku wanted to lay on guilt, even suspecting what they did, he could do so with a shovel.

"Look, InuYasha," Sango sighed. "This last year has been… hard on all of us. I think… I think we need some distance. Some time apart. You have Kikyou and the family you've always wanted. We need to figure out our future. Right now," she looked past him at the village they'd left, "I'm not sure our future is here."

He looked shocked, devastated, and finally, contrite. "I know it's been difficult. Things got strained when Kagome betrayed me for my asshole half-brother."

Sango arched a brow but didn't interrupt. It wasn't anything she hadn't heard before.

"Wench never knew what was good for her," he grumbled. "But, you guys are still my pack."

She sighed. "Yeah, InuYasha. But right now, we need to go."

He perked up. "Why don't I go with you? Yeah! It would be like old times!"

"Thank you for the offer, my friend," Kohaku bowed his head. "But your mate may be upset if you make such a decision without her," he said, a smile curling his lips to soften the words. 

InuYasha's ears slicked back. "She's not my-"

"Sango! Move that ass, woman!" Miroku hollered.

"I think it's best if we go alone. Miroku needs some time to cool off," Sango murmured, following her husband. "Goodbye, InuYasha."

"But…"

She didn't let his sad eyes and sorrowful voice sway her. Sango just kept walking.

***

Rin's scream of joy made Sesshomaru flinch. "Kagome! You are alive? Rin is so happy!"

The girl rose from her place beside the fire to throw herself at Kagome, and though the woman startled, she caught her and lightly patted the girl's head. 

"Thus seems to be the sentiment," she chuckled. "Though I don't remember being dead, so…"

Rin stepped back, and her smile turned to awe. "You look wonderful!"

Pink warmed the Miko's cheeks. "Thank you."

"We travel today," Sesshomaru informed the girl. "Eat and make ready."

"Yes, my lord!" Rin smiled and drew Kagome by the hand toward the fire. "How are you a demon?" she asked before Sesshomaru could warn her not to.

Kagome frowned. "Haven't I always been a demon?"

"Rin," he growled. "She has little memory of the time before. You must let them return on their own, _ without _ prompting." The girl would chatter incessantly if he did not stop her now. 

"Oh." Rin's face fell. "How terrible." Then she smiled brightly. "You'll get them back, though. Rin knows you will."

A patient smile curled Kagome's lips. "I suppose I will."

Then Shippo came bounding out of the cave den and ran over to throw himself into the Miko's arms. "I thought it was a dream! Then I woke up and heard your voice. I'm so glad you're back!"

She picked him up and nuzzled him. "Me too, Shippo."

His little hands went to her face. "Do you remember me?"

"Yes, I think. For the most part. I remember you're mine and that's what's important." Then she sniffed him again and wrinkled her nose. "When was the last time you had a bath?"

Shippo blushed. "Ah, Kagome!"

"You smell worse than a rat demon. Bath! Now." The low growl that accompanied her command brooked no arguments. "Or I'll change forms and bathe you myself."

"A bath sounds great!" he agreed, likely not wanting to go through a thorough tongue cleaning.

"Hm." She set him down, went to the large yellow bag still hooked to Ah-Un's removed saddle, pulled out a towel and rough bar of soap, and handed both to Shippo. "Go. I'll wash your clothes for you."

The boy ran off to strip while Kagome rummaged through the bag until she found what she sought. A satchel of tea and tea set.

She was midway through starting the water when Shippo returned with his clothes, the kit wrapped in a towel. He handed them over before running off to bathe in seclusion. 

As Rin saw to breakfast, Kagome set the water to boil and scrubbed Shippo's clothes in the lake, but when the kettle whistled, she rose, set the tea to steep and returned to the laundry.

A few minutes later, she laid the kit's clothing on a boulder warmed by the sun and returned to pour a cup of tea she then brought to Sesshomaru, sitting soaking up the morning rays. 

Amusement filled him though he didn't smile as he accepted the cup. "How much did you remember, and how much of that was simply routine?"

She blinked twice before smiling. "Some of each, I think." Then she rose and went back to Shippo's clothing, where she placed a hand flat against the rock. 

For a moment, nothing happened, then she was alight with blue fox flames that burned for one short moment and went out. She picked up Shippo's clothing and shook the wrinkles out. "All done."

Sesshomaru sat immobile as he watched her pour herself a cup of tea and a third for Rin before she joined him against the boulder, her body tucked into his side. 

"This one did not think fox fire could be used thusly."

She turned over her palm, and a blue flame danced there. "I just lowered the temperature to wick water away."

He reached out and touched the dancing flame. "Your power is strong. It burns even with this low heat." Red welts had formed on the tips of his fingers

She gasped and doused the flickering flame to grab his hand and bring it to her lips, where she licked the mild irritation until the welts faded. She then sucked his fingers between her lips. 

"Miko," he warned when her tongue danced deliciously over his claws.

A deviant smile curled her lips. "Just making sure."

"This one never knew what a tease you are," he grumbled and took his hand back to drink his tea.

She laughed and drank hers. 

This Kagome was lighter of heart and spirit than her human counterpart. She was softer, more joyous. Perhaps this is what she meant by free, or possibly it was that she'd forgotten all the trauma, grief, and pain of these last hard years.

"So we leave today?"

"Hn," he nodded. 

"And go where?"

"West."

She huffed. "Your vocabulary is outstanding."

"This one is beginning to prefer it when you didn't speak."

She gasped and turned toward him but must have found the humour in his eyes, for a sly fox grin curled her lips. "Rude."

He arched a brow and made to sip his tea, but lashed out and caught her tail before it could tip the cup into his lap. "Miko."

"Spoilsport," she pouted.

"This one will take issue if you soil his person." 

He slowly let her tail pull through his fingers only for heady arousal to spike in her scent. Intrigued, he caressed her tail a second time and watched her eyes glaze over.

"Maru," she whimpered. 

"I have never been with one who is kitsune. It appears your tails are quite… sensitive," he rumbled.

Her fingers buried into his mokomoko and stroked, making him shiver and inhale sharply. "Don't start something you won't finish, my Lord," she whispered, her sapphire eyes bewitching.

"Don't tempt me, vixen," he murmured, wondering how far she would push.

They stared at each other for a long moment before they sat back at the same time, each giving ground. It was only then they noticed Jaken.

The toad gaped at her, his mouth open, and tears in his eyes before he stumbled his way closer and bowed deeply to her. "Lady Kagome. I am… I am _pleased _you've returned to us."

Sesshomaru arched a brow. "Jaken, such manners."

The kappa rose to grasp his staff tightly. "You've been missed, Miko. Though… I suppose you weren't gone all that long."

Kagome chuckled. "Now, him, I remember. There seem to be many kicks, many rocks, and many stomps in your past, Master Jaken."

He frowned and glanced at Sesshomaru for clarification. "The lady remembers little of her former life. You will not bother her over it, Jaken."

If hearts could have formed in his eyes, they would have when Jaken gasped and whispered, "But you… you remember… me?"

"As much as I remember anyone," Kagome smiled.

Jaken prostrated himself before her. "Oh, my lady! How kind! How gracious!"

She frowned at the kappa. "What's wrong with him?"

Sesshomaru gave a small shrug. "Hn. He's a kappa." And she was now a powerful demoness. Such things mattered in Jaken's world. "Jaken, we leave today."

The toad bounced up. "Yes, milord! I'll see Ah-Un is ready, milord!" He waddled away as fast as his legs would carry him.

Kagome finished her tea and leaned her head on Sesshomaru's shoulder. "May I make a request?" she asked softly.

He nodded. "Hn."

"Clothing would be nice."

He supposed that was a necessary stop. It wouldn't do to haul her across the country in nothing but his hankimono, no matter how he enjoyed seeing her in it. 

"We will make a detour," he agreed.

"Great!"

"Why don't you use your clothes, Kagome?" Rin asked. "They are still in your bag."

Kagome looked toward her bag, and her nose curled in distaste. "Oh?"

"We will stop to acquire you new clothing," Sesshomaru stated, eyeing Rin.

The girl smiled and dished up a bowl of breakfast for herself, letting the subject drop.

Kagome leaned her chin on Sesshomaru's shoulder. "Thank you. I don't remember those clothes, but they… they were rough to the touch."

"Hm," he agreed. 

The mass-produced nature of her future born clothing had reduced the quality of the material. While a youkai's skin was tough, it was also sensitive. Her old clothing likely would feel abrasive to her now.

"Maru?" she whispered for his ears alone.

"Miko?" He looked down at her. Big blue eyes peered back, and he lifted his hand to cup her cheek. "What do you need?"

She leaned into his touch, nuzzled in a sign of such trust it humbled him before a kitsune smile flashed her fangs. "Play?"

Before he could consent or reject the idea, she jumped up and sprinted out of the cave. 

"Miko," he sighed, but a smile pulled at his lips. The idea of a chase was appealing. "Eat and make ready, Rin."

"Yes, my lord," she giggled, smiling after Kagome.

Sesshomaru pushed to his feet but looked down when Shippo returned. "Dress, eat and assist Rin with the cleanup. Then join this one outside. Your mother desires to play."

Shippo's face lit up, and he hurried to dress.

Sesshomaru glided toward the cave entrance and found Kagome standing in the grassy space between the trees. She giggled, and a flash of blue flames enveloped her before she disappeared. 

The tricky little Miko had Kitsune magic to go with her foxfire, and she knew how to use it. 

Sesshomaru stepped out cautiously but with growing excitement. A three-tailed fox was no easy opponent and would give him a challenge. Or so he hoped.

"Let the game begin," he murmured and lifted his nose to the air.

  
  
  



	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: mild violence, smexy fun

* * *

He inhaled and let the scent of the forest fill him. Then he was off, nothing but a flash of white as he ran into the woods only to stop, close his eyes, and breathe. Again her scent called to him, and he turned ten degrees toward the south. 

Trees blurred as he rushed by, skidded to a halt, and stalked the bushes. 

"Miko, this one smells you," he murmured and parted the leaves.

Bright blue eyes glowed from the face of a fox the size of a hunting dog. Again her marks coloured her fur, and her ear tips curled over, but this time, her body was smaller, sleeker, and three tails rose as she did. 

She made a sound only a fox could and went to dash away, intent on continuing the game, when Sesshomaru snapped, "Hold!" 

Kagome crouched low, ears swept back, her eyes full of apology and confusion. 

"This one is not angry, Miko." He stepped back and curled his fingers, coaxing her out of the underbrush. He knelt and held his hand out to her. "Come here."

She blinked twice, long lashes sweeping down her delicate face before creeping out of the brush to come to his knee. She reached her nose forward and licked his knuckles, worry still haunting her eyes. 

"You have done nothing wrong. This one has never seen ears quite like yours. They stand upright in both your forms, but the tips…" He ran a finger along the back of her perky ear and over to catch the end. "They curl." And they were so soft. Not even silk compared to the temptation of her ears. 

It was rude to fondle the true form of another when not also in one's true form, but his dog would dwarf her many times over, and he could not stop touching the soft ears. 

To find she bore two true forms should have stunned him, but nothing about this situation surprised him anymore. The Kami had made her; he could see that quite well. She was the perfect demoness for his small pack - a mother for the kitsune, a woman for Rin, and an Inu female for him, perfect in every way. 

She rose and moved closer, thrusting her head into his hands, making the same funny, squeaky, chittering noises only a fox could. Her lips parted, and eyes closed in bliss when he ran both hands over her face, her ears, down her back, and returned his right to her forehead, where he followed the wavy lines and circle of her sun. 

She nuzzled into him, wet nose on his throat and tongue licking his chin. 

Well pleased with her attention, he focused on her ears and gently rubbed them. Her forehead landed against his unarmored chest with a sweet groan he interpreted to mean, "don't stop."

When he did manage to pull his hands away, she crawled on him, pushed against him, rubbed the full length of her body along his. 

"Did you just scent mark me, Miko?" he asked, finding the action amusing instead of worthy of death. In many years, no one had dared to leave their scent where it wasn't wanted. Not even his mother.

She gave him a sly grin and bounced backward, her feet dancing before she bowed over her forelegs. She darted forward to catch his sleeve and tug it, and him, a few inches to the right.

"You are full of kitsune mischief today." He rose swiftly and made her jump away. 

She darted in again, teeth snapping at his ankles. He sidestepped and gently pulled her tail. Blue flames shot at him, but he moved out of their path. 

"That was uncalled for," he murmured.

She huffed and changed forms to plop her hands on her hips and glare at him. "You pulled my tail."

He admired the way his hankimono swung at her knees. "You left it out where this one could catch it."

She rolled her eyes, spun in a circle, and suddenly, he was seeing three of her, all of which smiled seductively and began to glide toward him.

"I liked the way you pulled it earlier better," one purred.

"Or the way you rubbed my ears," cooed the second.

"The way you held me as if I would vanish from your bed last eve," the third crooned before deadly claws curled around his throat and made him freeze.

"But mostly," the real Kagome whispered from behind him, "I like the way you groom me with your teeth."

"Well played, Miko." She had thoroughly distracted him and caught him unaware. Sesshomaru was impressed.

He slipped his finger beneath hers, pulling the tantalizing claws away from his flesh while drawing her around before him. "It has been years since someone has taken me by surprise."

She giggled, her cheeks flushed with her victory, tails flicking out to dismiss her illusions. "I had a feeling you were difficult to trick."

"Just remember." He yanked her into his embrace and brushed his chin on her mokomoko. "I never fall for the same trick twice."

She smiled wickedly up at him. "What about a new trick?"

Tails wrapped around his ankles and his feet were wrenched out from under him, causing him to go down hard on his back, taking her with him. It didn't hurt, but she had the misfortune of landing thigh first against precious cargo he would one day require to secure his heir. 

It smarted something fierce, and he growled, "Miko!" before rolling the woman beneath him.

She had the audacity to giggle. "Sorry! I honestly didn't think that would work."

"It worked." He glowered at her but was again impressed that she'd not only dared to try but had succeeded.

She bit her lip, fangs digging in as she fought her smile. "Did I hurt you?"

"Only this one's pride," he grumbled, ignoring as best he could the heat radiating from between her legs, now pressed firmly against his knee.

That set her off again, giggling and lightly scratching her claws against his chest. He growled at her, his own much larger fangs on display. It calmed but didn't kill her giggles. Still, she tilted her chin and bared her throat.

He ran his teeth over her flesh and relished the way she shivered and went lax beneath him. 

"Mama?" Shippo called in the distance.

Sesshomaru lifted his head and looked down on his heavy-lidded Miko before lowering to rub his cheek over hers. "You are forgiven for trying to remove this one's manhood."

She broke out in giggles. 

He rolled his eyes, sat up, yanked her up with him, and got to his feet. "Tease."

Her tiny claws danced over his wrist as she twirled away. "I'm not the only one… my lord." She swept him a mocking bow, puffed into a cloud of smoke and leapt away in her fox form to play with her kit.

"Hm. Indeed." She was not wrong, for the only one who had the right to pet another demon's true form as he had were pups.

Or mates.

***

She crept through the underbrush, waiting for just the right moment, and pounced on Shippo, laughing a kitsune laugh when he shrieked. 

"Mama?" he gasped, staring at her with wide eyes.

Kagome flicked his nose with a tail tip and bounced a couple of times, leaping away to get him to play with her.

His eyes lit up with joy, and he was soon down on all fours, racing and chasing, bouncing around. He would catch her, and she would fall, pretending to be his prey before bowling him over and licking him until he giggled. 

By the time he collapsed in exhaustion, she was breathing hard, but it was worth it. Her body was warm, and she'd tested her wounded leg to its full extent, noting it was healed.

Shippo gave a deep snore, and Kagome smiled at her kit. A quick couple of licks removed the dirt from his face before she picked him up by his vest and trotted over to where Sesshomaru lounged against a tree, waiting with immeasurable patience. 

Kagome placed the kit in his bent arm, then nuzzled Sesshomaru again, licking him twice before sitting down and staring at him.

The daiyoukai arched a silver brow. 

Kagome whined and nudged his elbow.

He sighed but lifted the sleeping Shippo and gently rubbed his cheek over the boy. "Satisfied?"

She smiled and squinted her eyes like the happy fox she was before changing back with a puff of smoke to appear beside him on her knees. "Very. He had a bath and no longer smelled like you."

"Hm." He tilted his head and rose, offering her a hand. "But he smells of you. Your scent is adequate protection."

She scoffed at that. "I don't want adequate. I want the best." No one would touch her kit - no matter his quippy comebacks - if he carried Sesshomaru's scent. It marked him as under the daiyoukai's protection—a powerful position to be in. 

She took Shippo back, wrapping a length of her mokomoko around him, gave Sesshomaru a grateful caress with her tails, and wandered toward Rin waiting with Jaken and Ah-Un. "I'm sorry for the delay. He needed the exercise, and it will make travelling with him easier." 

Kagome vaguely remembered trips with too many questions, much whining, aggravation, and finally, naps. Better to get the nap out of the way first, travel fast, and allow a curious, rambunctious youngster time to play and explore in the afternoon when they would be setting up camp.

"It's no trouble, Kagome. Rin was thrilled to see you play with him like kitsune," the girl smiled as she climbed to Ah-Un's back and held out her arms. "Rin can watch him if you wish to travel ahead with Lord Sesshomaru?"

The question appeared innocent enough at first, but there was a glint to the child's eye that Kagome arched a brow at. Still, she gently deposited Shippo in Rin's arms. Something about her in the orange kimono struck a cord, but it was difficult to draw up the memory past a laughing child with a pigtail and Kagome let it go. "Thank you, Rin."

She knew her name. She knew Shippo. She knew Sesshomaru and Jaken. If the others took time, it was what the Kami wanted. 

"You make a fine kitsune, Lady Kagome," Jaken beamed up at her before a rock plunked off his head, and Ah-Un swept the unconscious toad up onto his back via his tail.

Kagome smirked at the passive face of Sesshomaru. "Did he deserve that?"

"He would expound on your virtues for hours if this one did not."

"I'm sure," she smiled and glided toward the demon lord. "At least someone would," she teased.

Back in his armour, swords on his hip, tied there with his inner obi, he arched that self-same eyebrow. "And this one does not?"

He offered his arm, but she linked her hands behind her and rocked up on her toes. "I suppose…"

He scoffed and headed west. "You are far too aware of your beauty to fish for compliments, little one."

She skipped a step and fell in beside him, taking two strides for each of his one, pleased that she'd gotten the compliment anyway "A girl likes to hear that someone thinks she's beautiful."

"One need only gaze at your reflection to know so, Miko. Better to be valued for your skill, or your mind, or your honour. Those are qualities you must prove. Beauty is but skin deep."

She snorted. "Says the most stunning youkai in all the land."

He preened, he couldn't pretend he didn't and shot her a small smirk. "This Sesshomaru believes that title now belongs to another."

Kagome looked away, suddenly shy, heat creeping into her face. "Thank you, my lord."

"Hm."

The smug on him made her roll her eyes, but it was the scream far in the distance that set her running.

She didn't stop to think, didn't even hear him call her name, just ran for the screams sounded like children.

The forest went by in a blur as she followed the third scream. The scent of spilled blood soon filled her nose, then sobs her ears. By the time she reached the road, she could smell the foul stench of lesser youkai.

It took less than a second to take in the three males terrorizing the two girls - little more than children - cowering together on the roadside.

Kagome snarled and swept her mokomoko behind her. She fanned out her tails, the desire there to reach for a weapon she didn't have and couldn't remember, but she had other ways of making them mind.

"Step away from them now, and I may let you live."

The three weasels looked up and sneered, two grabbing the girls in their filthy claws. "Look, a little demoness to play with."

They were tall, thin, and well, weasley. Ragged armour protected their chests. One wore a helmet, another pauldrons. The last carried a pike while the others brandished swords.

The pike carrier advanced on Kagome, and her reiki exploded into a massive aura around her. "I said, let them go." Purple youki began to glow around her fingers as her whip descended. "I won't ask again."

The advancing weasel recoiled in horror. "She uses holy and demonic energy together!"

Kagome raised her hand and cracked her poison whip over the weasel's head.

All three turned tail and ran, shoving the children, leaving the girls sprawled in the dirt. 

She put her whip away and rushed forward to help the crying children. "It's okay. It's alright. They're gone."

A dishevelled mess, their yukata - though torn from rough handling - was still in place, allowing her to breathe a sigh of relief. If the three weasels had defiled the young women, it would be the girls who sadly bore the blame. 

She knelt and began examining them, noting the claw marks. "Scratches and bruises mostly," she murmured, before smiling at the girls. "I'm Kagome. You'll be alright now." She gave brief but concise directions on what to do to prevent infection and helped them to their feet. "Are you very far from home?"

"N-no, Lady Kami," they whispered, appearing awed and frightened of her, holding tightly to each other and peeking at her from behind their unbound hair.

"I'm not a Kami," Kagome murmured, frowning at the odd thing to say. 

"Miko."

She glanced up to find Sesshomaru waiting a few meters away. He looked annoyed, or constipated, but she figured annoyed was more likely and gently patted the girls' arms. "Hurry to your village. They won't be back."

"Yes, thank you, Lady Kami." They bowed, collected their baskets, and rushed away, whispering about the deity they'd met.

"I'm not a Kami," she muttered.

"This one could feel your use of youki and reiki. Such is considered to be impossible by all but the Kami."

She glanced at Sesshomaru, brow furrowed. "But, I'm not a Kami."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes!" she snapped. "I am… something, but not that!"

"Hn." He strode closer, anger radiating in his strides, and swept her against him, almost impaling her on his armour. "You will not be so foolish as to run off like that again."

"Those girls needed help!"

He growled and snapped his teeth. "And this one could have dealt with the threat!" His hand sank into her hair and pulled hard. "I lost you once! I will not lose you again! If you must rush headlong into danger, I insist you consider the wellbeing of your own first!"

Kagome opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She'd run off, left Shippo and Rin without a word, and rushed headlong into danger just like-

The thought ended abruptly. 

Just like… 

She frowned before a dull throb hit her head and pierced her temple.

"Miko?" He appeared quietly concerned, and the hold on her hair was gentler. 

She blinked up at him. "I'm sorry. I didn't think. I heard the screams and just… went. I put the children in danger by leaving them unguarded."

He rumbled a sound that made her knees weak and looked up. "Thankfully, they have a mount who flies."

Ah-Un hovered not far away.

"Oh, yes." She remembered now. "But… I can't remember…" 

Kagome frowned. Who could she not remember? Someone brash, pigheaded, and quick to anger. The harder she tried, the more her head hurt until a small whine escaped her throat when the pain increased.

"Stop," Sesshomaru commanded, claws lightly caressing her scalp. "If you cannot remember, you are not yet meant to."

She laid her hands on his armour and closed her eyes, relishing in the attention as his large hand and long fingers soothed away the ache. Then lips whispered over her cheek and down the ridge of her jaw before he gently, so gently, set his teeth against her throat.

Kagome quivered, desire spiking hot inside her.

He inhaled deeply and growled low. "I saw the last of it. You did well with your whip."

"I had a good teacher." She wasn't sure how she managed to form words.

"Did you?"

"Mm." She relaxed into his arm and stretched her neck. "You remind me of him."

"How so?"

Kagome opened her eyes and lifted her hand to his face. "Same eyes, same hair." She stroked his marks. "But they were blue and only one."

His eyes widened ever so slightly. "Was he called Touga?"

She frowned. "Yes."

"You met this one's esteemed father."

"What?" she whispered.

***

He hummed softly, intrigued, before leading her from the road. They would travel beside it in the grass where no stone would irritate her bare feet. "Tell this one of your time with the Kami."

"I don't remember much, but I remember him. He spoke of Inu things, I think. The ways of the pack, but most I knew already. And there was a fox. Pretty. She had many tails and taught me how to kitsune."

"This one thinks she taught you too well," he muttered, causing her to giggle. 

She fell silent after appearing to think carefully about her next words. "I wasn't youkai before, was I?" she asked quietly.

"What makes you say that?"

"They had to teach me everything in a short span of time. He was your father, a great warrior, renowned of the Kami but not a Kami. She… she was…" Kagome looked up at the dragon keeping pace.

"Hm." She was the kit's blood mother. "What did she tell you?"

"That she was pleased he found someone who loved him as much as she did, and that she hoped I would bond with him properly now." 

"Will you?" 

It was a terrible and wonderful thing, the taking on and bonding of another youkai's offspring. Terrible for it overrode much of the offspring's original parentage, and wonderful for it wasn't often done. It took great sacrifice and even greater honour to be so courageous.

"If that's what he wants."

"He will." Shippo was still very young. Such a bond with Kagome would strengthen his youki, grow his demonic aura, and allow him to rest within the heart of her foxfire flame without fear, something all kitsune needed as they grew. 

Sesshomaru could have sustained the kit with his own aura for a while, but he would eventually have been required to find a kitsune to nurture the flame in the boy. Now, if Kagome so chose, she could do it.

"I don't want him to forget where he came from," she whispered.

"He won't." He offered comfort in the gentle brush of his claws down the back of her hand.

Kagome took it a step further and tangled their fingers together, holding his hand as if it were something she had always done, when in fact, he had never in his long life held another's hand.

"Maru?"

He blinked at her, still mute from the grasping of his fingers. 

"This pattern on your collar, is it important?" She brushed it, though her mokomoko hid it.

"It announces this one as the Lord of the West. The pattern was worn by this one's father before him, though the flower is to honour the land of the Lady Mother. Why?"

"The weasels. They wore the same colours."

He came to a dead stop. "What?" The world took on a dangerous red tint. He had missed that, all his focus on her.

"I thought it strange that we matched." 

He growled a low, angry sound. "Jaken!"

Ah-Un landed, and the toad croaked, "Yes, milord?"

"Take the Miko to the seamstress Ai. Wait for this one there."

"Ye- yes, milord." 

Jaken cowered as Sesshomaru turned to Kagome. "Go."

She frowned and tightened her grip on his fingers. "What will you do?"

"Discipline." For a moment, he thought she would try and sway him, but bright sapphire eyes burned to midnight stones.

Her free hand lifted to his face, and he nuzzled into it without thought, for she had his complete trust and faith that she would protect the pack. She smiled and pushed up on her toes, requiring him to bend to press her cheek to his. "Be safe, alpha."

"Miko," he rumbled, breathing in her soft scent. 

She dropped to her heels. "And don't take too long. You wouldn't want me to buy everything I like, or I'll drain your coffers."

He bit back a chuckle, causing some of the red to leave his vision. "Vixen." 

Before she could say anything in protest, he lifted her and placed her behind Rin - the child grinning smugly at him, a look that would not fade no matter how he scowled - before glaring at Jaken.

"Straight to Ai."

"Yes, milord!" The kappa bowed and scraped before Kagome grabbed him by the back of his clothing and dragged him up on the dragon.

"Hopefully, when you catch up, you can have your clothes back," Kagome smirked and nudged the dragon into the air, to Rin's delighted giggle.

What a disheartening thought.

Sesshomaru darted back the way they came, intent on taking out his frustrations on three of his soldiers.

***

The dragon landed in a clearing where a stately, rather imposing home spread over the area. A wide wooden stairway led up to open doors. Flowering vines wound their way around the railings and bloomed along manicured pathways.

Little youkai - kappas, rabbits, and a few squirrels - tended the beautiful gardens and gravel pathways but paid them little attention. 

Kagome slid from the back of Ah-Un and moved around to the dragon's heads, hands light on the harness. They nuzzled her gently, rumbled happy little sounds that made it clear they knew her well, and she patted them absently as she looked around. 

"Stay on Ah-Un," Kagome murmured to Rin, still clutching the sleeping Shippo when two tall crane youkai stomped out the door and down the stairs.

The girl nodded, concern in her scent.

Jaken had no such qualms when he slipped from the dragon's back and huffed his way forward. "Make way for the Lady Kagome."

The cranes glared at him before kicking Jaken out of their way. 

Kagome gasped, then growled at their audacity. "Hey! Who the hell do you think you are? I know he's annoying, but you have no right to abuse him!"

Only Sesshomaru had that pleasure. 

"Watch your tone,_ female_," hissed the crane stalking toward her on long legs. He appeared mostly human but for the cap of red feathers on top of his black hair. 

His clothing was of fine quality, grooming impeccable, and as with all upper-level youkai, he was quite pretty, but he couldn't hold a candle to her lord.

"Milady, it's alright," Jaken hurried to intervene. 

"It is not alright," Kagome snarled, stepping out past Ah-Un's heads. "You just assaulted Lord Sesshomaru of the Western Land's most trusted retainer." 

That stopped the crane in his tracks. He looked frantically around but not seeing the Lord himself, sneered and stalked her again. He had a large, aggressive aura, surprisingly powerful for a prey youkai. 

It was almost oppressive.

"My Lord Frell, please. We want no quarrel with the West," pleaded the less humanoid of the two. He had the appearance of a crane with his spindly legs and crest of feathers instead of hair.

"Yes, Lord Frell. It would be a pity if I were to inform my lord of your aggression," Kagome murmured, slowly letting her mokomoko drape at her elbow, revealing the crest of whose house she claimed her own. 

Again his eyes widened as he took her in and retreated a step. "Forgive me. I did not know Lord Sesshomaru had taken a mate." 

Kagome supposed she did smell an awful lot like Sesshomaru and didn't bother to correct his assumption. Instead, she held out her hand to Rin. "Come, Rin. We have business with Ai. Jaken, announce us."

"Yes, milady," he bowed and hurried off, loudly commanding someone see to the dragon. 

Kagome walked past the ruffled cranes, only for Frell to block her path with an outstretched arm. "If you do not wish to lose that hand, you will remove it from my path," she stated softly, the world suddenly wreathed in red.

"I wish only to ask the name of your clan, Lady Kagome, as you are unknown to me."

She lifted her chin and stared him down, slowly unleashing her aura, careful to contain her holy powers as she had no desire to repeat the conversation with the weasels of earlier. As the power grew, so did his eyes until he backed away and bowed deeply, allowing her to pass without answering.

Rin hugged her side, head bowed, submissive to the dominant female. Along the path, the little lesser youkai bowed to her as Kagome allowed her aura to reduce and pull into herself once more. 

It wasn't until they reached the porch that Rin whispered, "You didn't want to answer?"

"I had none to give," Kagome responded. She had no idea what to say about where she came from or who her people were. 

She didn't remember. 

"Well, you appeared as Lord Sesshomaru. Impressive," Rin giggled when Shippo snored.

Jaken stood proudly within the front room where a handful of females in fine kimono waited, and another dressed more plainly bowed low as Kagome and Rin entered.

"My lady. It is a pleasure to dress a Lady of the West." 

Kagome tilted her head and smiled. "You are a silkworm youkai?"

"I am, my lady." The smooth, iridescent quality of her skin and shiny threads of her luxurious hair gave away her species as easily as the quality of her silks. "How may I serve?"

"The lady requires travelling garments and at least two court gowns," Jaken said, speaking for her.

Kagome frowned and growled at him, causing the kappa to cower. "I will speak for myself."

"Yes, milady," he bowed and scurried out of the way. 

She turned her attention back to the seamstress Ai. "I would be pleased to see your selection. My Lord will join us when he finishes his current task."

"Of course, my lady." She bowed. "Miss Rin."

"Seamstress Ai," the girl smiled. "This Rin will visit your garden."

"Very good," the silk youkai murmured.

Kagome nodded to the girl. "Jaken, go with Rin."

He pouted but followed Rin as the girl made her way out of the room, clearly comfortable with the building.

"Lady. This way." Ai bowed to the opposite door. 

Kagome made her way through it, curious but also wary. Too many scents permeated the space. Many youkai, many cloying smells, including those of the crane, caused her to wrinkle her nose.

"My apologies." Ai clapped her hands. "The windows!"

The females in their fancy kimono rushed into the room and pressed out the wooden shutters, flooding the room with fresh air and light. The flicked open fans and waved them through the air, sending the currents swirling.

Kagome nodded, "Thank you," and settled in the offered seat before a low stage. She had a flash of memory, something she vaguely remembered called a _ fashion show_ that made no sense in this context before Ai again clapped her hands. 

Three of her servants hurried closer. Each bowed and produced a selection of tools from their sleeves. One a brush and comb, another files and buffers for her claws, and the third knelt and held out her hands, a bowl, kettle, and cloth appearing from beneath the seat that would allow the female - Kagome still hadn't figured out what kind - to clean and attend her feet. 

"This isn't necessary," she tried to protest, but Ai was having none of it. 

"Your Lord will expect the grooming to be complete before you dress." Her hands fluttered, the only sign of her nerves before pressing heavily against the waist of her simple blue yukata.

Kagome sighed but nodded, and Ai motioned for the females to begin. When the brush pulled gently through her hair, she had to admit, it was nice. 

Another clap of hands had the curtain drawn back and soon wave after wave of youkai began to flow gracefully by.

Nothing, in particular, caught Kagome's attention until one female with blue hair appeared in a yukata, only a tone or two brighter than the marks on Sesshomaru's skin. Beautiful flowers, chrysanthemums and sakura swept across the body and sleeves of the garment. Both collar and sleeves were edged with sheer golden ribbons, the colour of Sesshomaru's eyes.

She kept the enthusiasm out of her voice, knowing a fair price could quickly become an exorbitant one when interest was shown. "That one." 

"An excellent choice. It will be modified for your tails, of course."

She hummed and stroked her pelt. 

A teal overcoat with ivory thread like swirls of clouds, cuff and collar banded with a three-inch-wide pink ribbon, also past muster. The pink ribbon was beautifully worked with bronze thread in the same pattern as the rest of the coat and rested on the shoulders of the female, hanging open to reveal the loose gown beneath. A band of the same ribbon caused the youkai's bosom to swell generously above it, and while Kagome wasn't flat-chested, she certainly wasn't that endowed and knew it would look quite nice on her. Pleated fabric of thin silk fell straight to the floor, a lighter teal than the overcoat and caused her to hold up her hand and stop the proceedings as she turned to Ai. Kagome recognized the style, though how she couldn't recall.

"Are you from the continent?"

The silk youkai blinked. "My family originates from there. It is why the Lord appreciates my clothing, as his lady mother also came from the continent. Might I ask, how you knew?"

Kagome flicked her fingers toward the garment. "Modified Chinese court dress. I've seen others. You may add it to my selections." She liked the look, and if Sesshomaru patroned Ai because of her parentage and style choices, Kagome wasn't averse to taking advantage and picking something that might draw his eyes. 

His worries aside, she _knew _there was no other for her. She felt it in her soul. But if he insisted on making her wait until her memories returned before giving them what they both wanted, she wasn't about to make resisting easy. 

Another Hanfu gown of Sesshomaru red and gold joined the pile. A yukata of forest green depicting the swaying grass of a meadow around its hem tied with a black obi received a nod of approval. And finally, to appease Jaken, she selected an ornate court kimono of royal blue. The heavy embroidery was a stunning representation of a peacock, the feathers drifting and swaying down the back of the garment beautifully. The sleeves skimmed the floor, and stones of blue glimmered from the feather's eyes. The bird itself was nowhere to be seen, only the tail, and a host of green ferns curling as ferns were want to along the hem. 

She winced internally, knowing that garment alone would cost a hefty sum, but she would not embarrass her Lord when they arrived in the west. 

"I also require night clothing, undergarments, and two pair of tailored hakama, black, along with hakama boots," she informed Ai.

"Geta?" she asked. 

Kagome shook her head. "Unnecessary for now. We travel to the west. Boots will suffice. I will wear the first yukata now."

"Of course, milady." Ai bowed and hurried off to see to the rest of Kagome's requests while the three servants fussed with her hair, hands, and feet, lulling her into a gentle doze until Ai returned.

"It is ready for you, Lady Kagome."

She blinked open her eyes and found the yukata was even prettier than she remembered.

"If you will follow me, I will show you to a private room where I will assist you in dressing."

Kagome nodded, but looked down at her hands and feet first, smiling at the softness and shine before running one through her now silky hair. "Thank you for your care," she said to the three, setting them all gaping after her as she followed Ai.

Kagome hardly noticed, intent on the house and its stunning artwork. 

At a shoji door, a small rabbit youkai with rather adorable ears knelt waiting and slid it open for Ai to enter. 

"Forgive my curiosity, but how is it you require an entire new wardrobe?" Ai asked after the door closed.

"Hunters," Kagome murmured. "I've been recovering for three days. Much of what I had is no longer suitable." It wasn't entirely a lie, but she had little desire to explain how she appeared naked after releasing her true form in front of Sesshomaru.

"Is that how you met Lord Sesshomaru?"

Kagome allowed her mokomoko to slip to her hand before draping it on a chair. She untied his sash, allowing it to loosen and the yards of silk to pool at her feet. "No. I've known him for six years." While she couldn't remember it, she trusted that he'd told her the truth about their past.

Ai was quick to collect his sash and add it to the chair when Kagome stepped from the middle of it. "And before you ask, no," she shrugged his hankimono from her shoulders, "we are not mates."

"Yet." 

She threw Ai a grin. "Yet."

The silk youkai smiled back. "It was evident with Jaken's arrival you were very important. With you wearing the Lord's clothing, his scent heavily mixed with your own, his claim is without doubt."

"Hm." Kagome neither confirmed nor denied her assumption. 

Ai still chuckled. "I hope when you finally allow him to catch you, my lady, you will not forget this humble seamstress."

Kagome draped Sesshomaru's clothing on the back of the chair and allowed Ai to assist in slipping the under kosode up her arms. She easily found the opening for her tails and nodded her gratitude as she tied the underclothing closed. The silk was thicker but still incredibly soft and felt wonderful on her skin, causing her to hum in pleasure. 

"I can assure you I won't," Kagome smiled.

The dressing went quickly as the yukata went on - a perfect fit - tied closed with a broad golden obi Ai used to create a smooth knot and little train that draped down either side of her tails.

"You will be travelling. This will be more comfortable and less complicated for Miss Rin to assist with this evening," she explained, then bid Kagome kneel as she worked the section of hair at Kagome's crown into a twist and added a comb. "The matching ornaments - fans, hair accessories, and jewelry - have been boxed and added to your selections."

Kagome's eyes widened. Dear Kami! What if she really did empty Sesshomaru's coffers?

_ It is the alpha's duty and his pleasure to provide for his pack, be that food, weapons, clothing, or comfort. Do not deny him that ability. _

The voice in her head was the silver Inu, Touga, Sesshomaru's father, and had her taking a deep breath. "I will inform my Lord. I'm sure it will please him."

Then Ai bid her rise and turned Kagome to face a highly polished piece of bronze. It was _almost _a mirror - mirror, another memory of seeing herself somewhere else - and caused a small gasp to escape her. 

She looked amazing! "Ai, it's lovely."

"Would you like paint for your nape? Or cosmetics?"

"Why would you wish to paint perfection?"

The deep voice sent Ai to her knees, but Kagome turned and bowed to him, her hands light upon her knees. "Alpha, I am pleased to see you've returned."

"Mm." Sesshomaru nodded his head to Ai, a clear dismissal that sent the silkworm rushing from the room. 

When the door shut, Kagome rose only to find Sesshomaru already before her. "Miko," he rumbled, eyes molten gold and sweeping over her in appreciation. "This one is pleased."

She arched an amused brow. "This one is pleased you returned unbloodied."

He growled at her teasing before ducking his head, his nose skimming her throat. "You smell of too many others."

"All female." And the clothing smelled of nothing but silk. How Ai managed that, Kagome had no idea. 

She lifted her hand to his cheek, claws gleaming, and stroked her soft fingers down his smooth flesh. "And they worked wonders on me."

He rumbled a deeper purr as his finger carded through the locks left loose down her back. "Are you sufficiently pampered, Miko?"

"I am. Though, I fear the bill Ai is about to present you."

He hummed and returned his nose to her throat. Fangs soon followed, and Kagome gave him what he wanted. She closed her eyes when his tongue swept over her pulse and sighed when he nipped his fangs into her exposed shoulder and caught the edge of her marks. 

"You are stunning, Kagome," he whispered against her ear. 

She blushed and rubbed her cheek against his, adding a little nuzzle beneath his chin before drawing back and reaching for the ties of his armour. 

"Just what are you about, vixen?" he smirked, grabbing for her wrists.

Kagome snorted. "I assure you, my Lord, if my intent were to get you naked, you would know it. But, I seek only to return your clothing to you." She gave him a mischief filled smile. "Unless you'd like me to launder the garment first?"

He growled at her and yanked the ties for his armour free, allowing his swords to drop with a clatter.

She tsked and wagged a finger at him. "Such disregard for such important weapons."

The bone plate armour landed with a thunk that made her snort as she retrieved her pelt and returned it to her shoulder. Then, she picked up his hankimono and walked toward him.

He stood passive, and Kagome smiled. If he wanted her to dress him, she would. 

First, she gathered the sleeve with great care before sliding it over his hand and drawing the garment up his arm. She followed it around and collected his hair to the side. If her claws happened to skim his nape, it was only to be sure she hadn't missed a single strand. Then she smoothed his shirt over his broad back and allowed his hair to fall before guiding his hand through the second sleeve.

Sesshomaru's eyes were hot, burning gold when she returned to his front and reached for the ties of his hakama. He said nothing, but the low vibration in the room was comment enough. His hakama fell around his ankles, but his hanjuban was plenty long enough to cover anything important, and Kagome closed his collars over his chest, reaching within to tie the inner ties, then the outer.

She set her hands on his narrow waist and looked up into eyes tinting red, locked and held them as she sank to her knees. 

He growled, low and feral, but remained still, unmoving as she skimmed her hands down, collected his hakama, and drew them up his legs. 

She pulled them up over his delicious ass and boldly smoothed his two shirts down over it, tucking them in properly before drawing his hakama around and tying them firmly at his waist. Then, she wrapped is obi around his waist, the one he had been using for his swords, and did so by reaching around him, her body gently brushing against his.

By the time she finished, his fangs had indented his lip, and his eyes were more red than gold. 

"Vixen!" Sesshomaru hissed and pinned her to the wall. 

His mouth closed tightly on her throat, fangs a harsh warning, but she couldn't heed it as he wanted and moaned softly instead. The rumble from him shook her through, but Kagome fisted her hand in his hair and pressed him harder against her. 

She wanted more!

His jaws opened, and teeth closed brutally hard on her shoulder, eliciting a sharp moan that egged him on before he finally dragged his mouth away and panted heavily against her ear, leaving a cooling patch of saliva and a wanton throbbing behind. 

"Maru," she whispered, clinging to him. 

"You tempt me, vixen. How you tempt me." 

The daring welled up from some unknown place. "Good."

"Miko…" he sighed, resting their foreheads together. 

"You can give me that disapproving tone all you like, but I won't stop making my preference known. If you can't get with the program, well, that's on you."

"Kagome, you push for something I cannot yet give."

"But you want to?" she whispered her uncertainty.

"I said as much. I voice my intentions with every touch. Is that not enough? Do you still doubt me?"

"No." She held on tighter when he tried to pull away. "No, I don't doubt you. So much so that a couple of cranes may be under the impression I'm already yours."

This time she let him pull back. "Explain," he demanded as he swiftly returned his armour, and she handed over his sash.

"Only if you tell me about the weasels."

"Hm, done." He opened the shoji door. "Ai, tea in the garden. Jaken will settle the account."

She bowed deeply. "Very good, my lord."

Sesshomaru paused as he passed her. "This one is pleased with your care."

"Thank you, my lord," she smiled. "Your lady is a pleasure to serve."

He muttered something that sounded indistinctly like _menace, _but Kagome smirked at Ai and followed his retreating back, undisturbed by the large bruise and quickly drying saliva on her neck.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: mild violence, smexy fun

* * *

Sango, Miroku, and Kohaku arrived at the village shortly after the lunch hour only to find it in an uproar. Clutching Kirara close, Sango exchanged a glance with her husband and brother and headed into the chaos to discover its origin. 

"Miroku?" she asked, unable to sense any inherent evil. 

"No," he murmured. "I feel no demonic force." 

"Neither do I," Kohaku agreed.

She glanced at her brother. Though he bore all the signs of a slayer, she had learned in their short time together that Kohaku had returned to her with a deep affinity for demonic energy. Whether that was because of the Shikon shard that once kept him alive, his time as Naraku's puppet, or his rebirth, no one could say with any certainty. 

"My good woman," Miroku smiled, sweeping out his staff to halt the lady rushing by. "What goes here?"

"A Kami! A Kami saved two of our daughters!" she spoke excitedly and rushed onward.

"A Kami?" Sango murmured skeptically.

"Mm. Perhaps we should see for ourselves. If this is another youkai masquerading as a Kami, best nip it in the bottom before it gets out of control," the monk decided.

They all agreed and followed the noise and the crowd until they could see two girls surrounded by villagers. 

"She came like the wind! Swift and silent," cried one.

"The weasels ran from her!" said the second.

"She was surrounded by Holy light but wielded a whip of youki!"

"Never have I seen such beauty!"

"And when the youkai Lord arrived, he stood back and called her Miko!"

Sango stiffened in shock, but Miroku pushed his way to the front. 

"My dear ladies. The youkai Lord, did you know him?" They shook their heads. "Could you describe him?"

"He was very tall, good monk," said one.

"With long silver hair," nodded the other.

"And scary armour, but she was not afraid! She sent us away, but when I looked back, he had embraced her," blushed the young woman.

"What… what did she look like?" Sango asked, finding her voice.

"She had hair like a raven's wing, and a thick black pelt on her shoulder, three tails, and three coloured marks on each cheek with a sun like the dawn on her forehead. Never have I seen eyes so blue, nor finer silks, though it was apparent she wore the youkai Lord's hanjuban. White with red sakura and honeycomb, and a blue and yellow sash.

Sango's hand flew to her mouth. "Kagome!"

Those closest turned to her. "You know her name? The Kami?"

"No!" Miroku barked, striding back to Sango's side. "Your description but sounds like a friend we recently lost, the Shikon Miko Kagome. She vanished after defeating Naraku and is presumed no more. There… was a great deal of blood," he murmured, gathering Sango close. "Forgive our intrusion. We will be going."

Miroku's announcement sent shock sailing through the village for the Shikon Miko was well known. To hear she had perished with Naraku's defeat was an unexpected blow.

"We… saw the army marching," murmured a village elder. "They said nothing of her death."

"It happened after the army left. Which direction did the women say the Kami and her youkai went?" Kohaku asked the man.

"West."

"Thank you." He bowed his head and hurried to follow Sango and Miroku.

Once away from the village, Sango punched her husband in the arm. "Why did you say that!"

He grabbed her by the elbows and shook her gently. "Because there is a hanyou following us!" he hissed.

Sango gasped. "InuYasha?"

"Yes, I believe so," Miroku nodded and looked East. "He is faint, but there is a tingle against my senses I have been watching for."

"You expected he would follow?" Kohaku asked, a frown now marring his face.

"I did. He does not like being left out, but whether he has Kikyou with him, I cannot say. Her power is nothing now. Barely a trickle. It is practically impossible to distinguish between her and any other human."

Sango clenched her teeth together. "If it is Kagome, we have to warn Sesshomaru. With how InuYasha spoke at Kaede's, and if you're right about what the Kami did with the jewel, we can't let InuYasha find her without warning her alpha."

Kirara jumped from her arms and transformed, waiting as they climbed on her back before taking to the sky and racing west. 

From the air, it was easy to see where the confrontation took place on the road. The fire neko circled down to hover before scenting the air and taking off in a western direction. She flew for a few miles before swooping down and landing in a clearing where there had been a fight. 

Sango took a harder look and frowned. Less of a fight and more of an ass-whooping. Someone had beat the hell out of three others.

She dropped from Kirara's back and picked her way around the clearing before stopping dead in her tracks, then dropping to trace the outline of a familiar boot pattern.

"Sesshomaru was here!" she called, suddenly seeing the branches and leaves sheared off by his acid whip. But where had he gone?

Kohaku knelt near a bush and plucked a chunk of hair from a twig to bring to his nose. "Ugh. Weasels."

"But if Kagome ran them off to save the girls, why would Sesshomaru chase them down and beat them up?" Sango asked. 

"This. This is why." Miroku appeared from behind a tree, a helmet dangling from his staff. "The weasels were part of the Western army. This was the Daiyoukai's discipline."

Sango took another look around the clearing. There, a strike, a blow that sent one sailing into the trees. Claw marks on the trunks. Poison dripping from broken branches. Blood spray in the grass but nothing fatal. It was an incredible display of controlled brutality. 

"Wow," Kohaku whispered. "Intense."

"The weasels have continued west toward Sesshomaru's lands, but the Daiyoukai has gone northward. Perhaps if we hurry, we can catch him."

Kirara, ever eager, transformed into her larger form and stamped a paw. The fire neko also missed Kagome, Sango could tell.

They climbed on her back and held tight as she launched herself skyward, following the nearly invisible trail of the Lord of the West.

***

Kagome chuckled and sipped her tea. "Well, I suppose your soldiers won't hurt anyone else on their way home."

"They will not," Sesshomaru agreed. "And when they arrive at this one's Shiro, they will present themselves to Kentaro for further punishment."

She arched a concerned brow. "Further punishment?" 

He tilted his head and admired her sitting at a diagonal to him. 

The small teahouse they occupied overlooked the garden on one side and the fence and gate leading back to Ai's main compound. It gave him a view of those coming from the house and Rin enjoying the garden as Jaken followed in her wake. 

At thirteen, Rin was no longer the child she once was though she continued to follow at his heels. Her loyalty and unwavering faith gave her a place in his pack as his ward though he considered her more his child. She stole a small piece of his heart long ago, though he said little about it. 

Once, he'd mentioned to Kagome that Rin was coming of age, and he would soon need to procure her a powerful male for her husband. The look of shock and utter horror on the Miko had almost caused him to laugh, but he retained it and quickly asked what was amiss. 

She'd educated Sesshomaru up one side and down the other on the little Miko's future era, the despicable nature of what he'd implied, and how in her time, Rin would still be considered a child. The idea of marrying her off to have children when - in reality - her body was nowhere near mature enough left Kagome sickened. 

It opened his eyes and helped him understand why she refused to consider a suitor at her "advanced" age of twenty-one. In her mind, Kagome was barely an adult. Yes, she'd matured faster due to her time in the Feudal Era and the nature of her quest, but she had no desire to "settle down" and "start popping out babies," as she put it. She was not opposed to children, wanted them quite badly, and doted on both Shippo and Rin, but she would not place her duty of completing the Shikon and seeing Naraku dead on the shoulders of a husband or child. 

With those duties now fulfilled, such thoughts sent Sesshomaru's gaze on a wayward path down the Miko's body. Her curves and angles had changed little with her changed form. Her hips still enticed him, her sleek muscles begged for his hands. Her breasts, though bound by Ai, still swelled against the collars of her yukata. Unlike the human courts, youkai did not bind their women down into a flat, cylindrical form, preferring to enhance their female's natural curves into the enticements they were. 

The neck of the yukata was wide, allowing a peek at the tri-marks on her shoulders. The bruise Sesshomaru left on her flesh was prominent and left him shaken by how proud of it he was. No one who saw it would approach her, knowing his claim was first. It was not a mark of mating, but the claiming was still valid and would protect her. Not that she needed protection, Kagome was perfectly capable of protecting herself, but instincts were challenging to deny.

"Earth to Maru?" Kagome's hand waved in front of his face.

"Hm?" he hummed, knocked out of his perusal.

She smirked, evidently aware of exactly where his mind wandered. "Further punishment?"

"Hn. Youkai under my rule attack no one - human or demon - without first being attacked or in defence of another. The West cares for all its people, no matter the species. That three of the Western Army would sink so low as to rape two humans while on the march shows their training failed. Kentaro, keeper of my soldiers, will ascertain where that failing originated and correct it."

She arched a brow. "Youkai attack and harm humans all the time."

He held her challenging gaze. "Not those who live in my home. Those under my direct command harm no one without my authorization."

"Hmm." She sipped her tea, her mokomoko entwined with his and profile cast in thought.

"And rape is abhorrent. Any who must _ force _ a female to accept them is deserving of a slow, agonizing death."

She froze in what he was coming to understand meant returning memories before setting her teacup down with shaking hands. "You killed him."

He arched a brow, needing more information as he'd killed many. 

A delicately clawed hand pressed against her temple. "Poisoner… a squat, evil little man. I was… I was… helpless…"

He reached out and cupped her chin, drawing her face up and closer as he leaned toward her. "Miko, you were _ never _ helpless. You have always been powerful, independent, perhaps foolishly rash, but you were more competent than any I have seen before you. Young and untrained, yes, but your potential was extraordinary."

She went soft in his hand and looked at him with eyes so warm with affection; it felt as if his heart would burst. "You saved me from Mukotsu."

"You had already begun to save yourself. You stabbed him, but I was most impressed when he struck you, and you refused to give him satisfaction by crying out." He used his free hand to stroke his claws feather-light over the place that had bruised because of the male's violence. "This one could not but intercede when he attempted to kill you."

She shifted closer until their outer thighs pressed together, and her hands rested on his chest. "You were immune to his poison. I knew he couldn't hurt you, but I still worried."

He cupped the nape of her neck, thumb gently stroking near her ear. "Why?"

"Because you saved me. I didn't want to see you injured again." She frowned, an adorable little furrow appearing between her brows. "Why did you only have one arm?"

"A story you are not ready to remember," he whispered against her soft cheek. 

She sighed but flowed forward, relaxing against his chest as she sank into him. "I liked it better when you wore no armour."

"Hn," he agreed. "But, we are no longer alone, hidden in my den."

"My den," she snickered.

"Our den," he growled and bit her ear, making her yelp. "I must be ever vigilant, always aware, prepared for an attack. The armour stays. When we reach the west, I will remove it. There, I wear it only for training and ceremony."

She rose on her knees and wrapped her arms around his neck, bringing their faces level. "And at night, Maru? Will I join you in your den, or will you make me sleep alone?"

He growled and nudged her chin up with his nose, his hands clamping on her round hips. "You sleep beside your alpha, Vixen."

"Scandalous," she teased. 

He smirked at her. "Did you not already say two cranes believe you are mine? Tell me of your encounter."

She sighed and settled beside him, her arms no longer around his neck, and told him of the run-in with Frell.

"Hm. Loudmouth crane," Sesshomaru grumbled. "I would have liked to see your impersonation of me." The thought of her going hard and glaring down the one who irritated her excited him. 

For the last while, when dealing with the army and army life, Kagome had grown in respect to his people and Koga's. 

The youkai feared her power until they grew to know the small Miko, and by the end, they showed her far more respect than any other besides himself. Once or twice, she'd gone cold on a youkai causing trouble, but never unleashed her aura. It would have been a sight to watch her take down Frell.

She chuckled. "He acts like a big fish in a small pond, prey pretending to be a predator, but he was no match for this Kagome," she teased.

"Miko," he growled.

She just giggled.

They both looked out at the garden when Rin laughed at a sleepy Shippo tumbling awake from her arms. 

"Mama!" he cried, fear in the words and on the air. 

Kagome yipped, and the fox kit spun their way. He ran across the grass to her and jumped into her arms. 

"I dreamed you died, and I was alone again!"

Sorrow filled the little hut as Kagome cuddled the kit. "Oh, Shippo," she whispered before licking the tears from his cheeks. A soothing rumble emanated from her chest and instantly relaxed the boy. "I'm not going anywhere, Shippo. Never again."

Though no longer crying, the kit clung to her, his distress unabated, and Sesshomaru hummed, "Miko. Ask him."

"Now?" she gasped. 

He tilted his head. "It will solve many problems."

She seemed hesitant before determination filled her eyes. "Shippo?" The boy looked up. "Would you allow me to adopt you? To bond you to me as my son?"

His eyes grew huge before he whispered hesitantly, "Really?"

"Yes. I know it's asking a lot, but I know I want this even without all my memories. In my heart, you're as much mine as if I birthed you."

"Yes, Mama!" he cried and threw his arms around her neck, yipping and nuzzling, announcing his happiness the kitsune way.

Sesshomaru nodded his approval when Kagome glanced at him. "This one has people who can perform the ritual. It will take at least one full day to bind him to you in an exchange of blood and power. It is unlikely you will gain either Holy power or poison, kit, but the strength of your flame will grow to match your mother's, and you will be able to rest in the heart of her flame as you mature."

"Thank you, 'Gome!" Shippo cried, his little face tucked to her throat.

"I love you, Shippo. There's nothing I wouldn't do for you," she whispered, nuzzling Shippo, but her eyes remained locked with Sesshomaru's. 

He growled, more a low vibration, but it made her flash her fangs in a kitsune grin.

"Come. It is time we left." Sesshomaru rose and held down his hand, assisting Kagome to her feet as they entered the garden to collect Rin.

"Kagome!" Rin smiled and stood, a flower crown in her hands.

She froze, her hand tight on Sesshomaru's. "Oh… oh, I see."

"Miko?"

There was a suspicious wet sparkle in her eyes, but she smiled up at him. "I remember her now. I couldn't reconcile the child in orange with her pigtail with this young woman. Now I see. Rin _ is _ that child. She's simply grown up."

"Yes," he nodded. "Your memories return."

"Slowly, and only portions, but it's nice to feel less… blank."

"You look beautiful, Kagome," Rin smiled as they approached, dropping the flower crown on Jaken's head.

"Gah! Girl! Stop that!" He quickly broke it apart and sent flowers scattering.

"Master Jaken is mean! Rin worked so hard on her pretty crown," the girl smirked.

"Jaken? Is it settled?"

The kappa sent one last glare Rin's way before bowing. "Your humble servant has paid Ai for her creations."

Sesshomaru didn't need to see it to feel Kagome wince before she asked, "Did I break the bank?"

Jaken snorted. "Foolish female! My Lord has many times many more coins than you could possibly spend on clothing. This was not even a drop in the ocean compared to his wealth!"

Kagome arched a brow before purposefully stepping on Jaken. "It was a legitimate concern when I chose that court kimono. Do not speak down to me, and do not call me _female_ in that condescending tone ever again. I am Kagome. Ka-go-me. You will address me as such, _kappa_, or my Lord will not be the only one flinging rocks at your head. Do I make myself clear?" she snarled.

"Yes, my lady…" he wheezed when she removed her foot. 

Sesshomaru, awed by her, stared for one moment more before turning away. "Rin, we go," he commanded, knowing if he stared at Kagome any longer, he would mate her in the teahouse before they ever left Ai's. 

Already his beast howled to hunt the female who would be his mate. Already she ruled as if born to it. 

He wanted her walking the halls of his Shiro, where all could see the glory that was his intended. 

***

Evening was darkening the sky when they stopped to camp for the night. Kagome and Rin set up to cook, while Shippo and Jaken gathered firewood, and Sesshomaru disappeared into the forest to return with dinner. 

A few minutes later, Sesshomaru dropped three rabbits, skinned and ready for roasting at Kagome's feet. She nodded her thanks and set them on a spit. 

They ate quietly, all but Sesshomaru, who declined. He'd fed and fed well before they left the den and would not eat again until they reached the west. 

After, Kagome helped Shippo roll out the bag of yellow fabric, and listened as Rin told the kit a story before both crawled into the sack without complaint and were instantly asleep. 

Jaken, his belly full, slept against Ah-Uh, leaving only Kagome and Sesshomaru awake. 

Kagome placed the kettle on to boil, then took a rag from her pack and made her way to Sesshomaru, watching her with glowing eyes.

"Would my lord be kind enough to untie me as Rin is already asleep?" she asked, her voice soft but neutral. 

He hid his facial expression, but his scent laced with interest. "Why?"

"I plan to wash the sweat from my body," she smiled, turning to give him her back. They had not found a hot spring, but they camped near a small creek which, while cold, would work to clean her skin. 

It took a moment, but the touch of gentle hands came, tugging free the tie of her obi, then helped her loosen it, so it fell around her ankles, and she could step out of the golden fabric. 

Kagome held the yukata in place and offered him a slight bow of gratitude before gliding off, tails twitching, to exit the firelight and approach the stream. 

She knew he could see her silhouette in the low glow of the moon, but she was kitsune - tricky and full of mischief - and gently tossed an orb of blue foxfire up that would cast her in a subtle glow. She knelt by the stream on her mokomoko, pulled the collars of her yukata apart and shrugged it from her shoulders. 

A low growl resonated behind her. Not enough to wake the others, but enough to say he was watching.

Kagome drew her arms from her sleeves and collected her hair, using the comb from Ai to pin it all to the top of her head. She knew he could see her neck, her shoulders, the long, sleek lines of her arms, and the marks on her flesh, but it wasn't until she bent over the stream and wet the cloth, bringing it to her neck that his great control shattered, and he landed on his knees behind her. 

"Vixen!" he hissed, snatching the cloth from her fingers. 

"I only wash, my Lord. Does this displease you?"

He growled at her. "You know it pleases me all too well."

Before she could speak, he took the damp cloth and ran it up her arm. "If you must torment me, then I will treat you in kind, Ka-go-me," he whispered, dragging the wet rag over her skin.

Her breath caught at the sensual nature of his touch, but when she tried to squirm away, he clamped his hand around her waist and yanked her back into unyielding bone plate armour. 

"None of that, little one. This Sesshomaru desires to assist."

"And what a pleasant lady's maid you make," she quipped.

He growled, and his teeth were there, running over her neck. "You try my patience, Miko."

"I am kitsune. That is my nature, my Lord."

He dipped the cloth down until it ran the edge of her breast binding, dripping water down the valley of shadow between the enhanced mounds. "You fill my thoughts, Kagome."

The confession left her breathless. "Maru." She looked up and back, and he was there, golden eyes glowing.

"You are breathtaking, little one. And bathing an inu-youkai's mate is an honour and a pleasure."

"We are not mates," she whispered.

"Yet," he growled. 

It sent a shiver through her body as he washed her final limb, tossed the cloth down and helped her back into her yukata. Then a strong, clawed hand closed around Kagome's throat, sending a sharp thrill of desire laced with a tendril of fear through her body.

"Know this, Ka-go-me," he purred against her ear. "When your memories return, if you do remember another, I will not stop fighting for you. I desire no mate but you."

He helped her to her feet and back to the fire where the pot had boiled dry, and Kagome was quick to remove it from the heat. 

How long had they sat there together? Him touching her, Kagome enjoying it. 

"Miko." Her head snapped up to see him sitting at the base of a tree where he could watch over their pack. "This one desires no tea. Come. Rest. Tomorrow we finish our journey."

She nodded and crossed to him, where the thick white plush of mokomoko sat waiting for her. 

She didn't bother to return the obi to her waist, and instead, shrugged the outer layer of her yukata off, folded it neatly, and placed the obi on top. Dressed only in her under kosode, the silk dyed black, she turned toward him and settled into his thick pelt, her fur wrapping over her to keep out the mild chill in the air. 

Then, she turned into Sesshomaru. "What do I tell them of who I am?"

"Hm?"

She almost rolled her eyes. "My history. That crane, Frell, asked after my clan, and I had no answers. I don't know where I come from. My parents. Do I have a family? Are they alive? Do they live near here?"

He cupped her cheek, brows furrowed. "I am uncertain what the Kami will allow me to tell you, but… you have a mother, brother, and grandfather. Your father perished in an accident when your brother was still small. They do not live near here, but at a place…" he faltered before speaking, "called Higurashi Shrine."

She had no recollection, and nothing stirred her memory. "It means nothing to me."

He stroked her cheek. "It will."

She smiled and nodded because he was right. One day, she would remember her family, and she was grateful he gave her this small piece.

"And as for what we tell them, that is simple. You are Kagome, firstborn to the House of the Sun." He gently touched her forehead. "Your power is great; I believe it may even equal mine, and that will be enough to satisfy my court." 

"Will that suffice?" she whispered. 

"Hn." He nodded. 

"Alright." She snuggled up under his arm and drifted into sleep.

***

Sesshomaru watched her and wasn't surprised when she slipped down and used his thigh as her pillow. In her repose, her clothing shifted over her shoulder, and he couldn't stop himself from lightly tracing the vibrant markings on her skin. They were warm beneath his fingers, and with a little touch of his youki, he found each stripe reacted with its designated power. 

Blue tingled with foxfire and kitsune magic. Maroon held the mild burn of acid. Pink glowed with holy light. She was a walking enigma, a puzzle he had yet to figure out, but he would. 

Sesshomaru plucked the comb free and ran his claws lightly through her hair, watching her sleep. He traced the mark on her forehead with firm circles of his thumb, soothing the furrow forming there before casting out his senses to the surrounding area. 

Two familiar signatures and one other flared back toward Ai's and gave him pause. 

Why would the slayer and the monk be this far from the village? Who was the third with them? Where was InuYasha?

Carefully, he shifted his mokomoko under Kagome, replacing her pillow and leaving his fur behind to keep her warm as he collected his swords and slipped from camp. 

A pulse of youki raised a powerful barrier around his sleeping pack before he launched himself into the sky, aura masked, determined to hide from his idiot half-brother.

It took no time at all to land beyond the group's clearing. Sesshomaru had been in no rush to return to his Shiro and had enjoyed the leisure time spent with his pack, knowing once they reached his home, he'd be inundated with the inane trivialities of ruling. 

The three sat around the fire, speaking quietly, the slayer frustrated, and the monk soothing her.

"Sango, it's fine. We will find him."

"What if InuYasha finds them first!" she snapped.

"Lord Sesshomaru would never allow anything to happen to her. He is her alpha."

He cocked his head. Were they speaking about Rin? What would InuYasha want with Rin?

"But he needs to know!" she cried.

"This Sesshomaru needs to know what?" he asked, certain InuYasha was nowhere near their group, voice low and contained as he glided out of the forest. 

All three scrambled to their feet, but it was the monk who smiled and welcomed him. "My Lord! Good to see you again. How is Shippo? Rin? Jaken?"

The glint in the monk's eyes spoke volumes. "End your prattle, Miroku. Why do you seek this one?

"We need to speak with you about what happened at the final battle. After Kagome disappeared."

He glanced at Sango, then flicked his gaze to the third person. Shock widened his eyes moments before his sword landed in his hand.

"Wait!" Sango threw herself in front of her dead brother.

"Remove yourself from the puppet, woman!" Sesshomaru growled. "The one you claim brother is dead!"

"He _ was _ dead. Was," Miroku stated, holding out his hands. "Please, my Lord. Allow us to explain. The Kami spoke with me after you left, and there are… things we need to both ask and tell."

He sniffed delicately toward Kohaku, found no stench beyond human and finally relented. With a nod, he sheathed his sword and sat near their fire. "Speak."

When the monk, slayer, and revived male finished speaking, Sesshomaru remained silent for another long moment as he processed this new information. It lined up well with what he already suspected, and with what Kagome had told him.

"What has this to do with this one?" he finally asked. 

"We thought…" Sango's voice failed her. 

"We thought if somehow Kagome yet lived, she would find her way to you," Miroku finished for her.

"Hn." He rose to his feet. "And what threat does InuYasha present?"

"He's… erratic. Angry. He's said some terrible things about Kagome and her wish. Even with Kikyo back, not even his mate can settle him down."

Sesshomaru arched a brow. "She is not his mate." The three humans frowned. "She may be his human equivalent of _ wife, _ but no youkai in his right mind would _ mate _ a human. It dooms them to a long life of short memories."

"I… don't understand?" Sango murmured.

Sesshomaru sighed, seeing he would need to educate them. "Youkai take but one mate. One. To mate a human who's life at most will span sixty years would doom the youkai to live a solitary, intolerable existence. They would mourn their mate until their death many centuries later. Kikyou may warm my half-brother's bed, but she will never be his mate. And if he is foolish enough to mate the woman, then when he comes seeking death in a few decades, I will grant it to him."

He turned to walk away from their gaping mouths, but Sango cried out, "Wait! Is… is Kagome with you?"

He closed his eyes, conflicted. If he lied and distressed the woman Kagome named sister, his little Miko would be _ furious _ when she found out. If he told the truth, they would want to see her. 

Sesshomaru looked up at the waning moon and sighed. "You cannot see her."

"What!" 

They were all on their feet when he turned back. "I forbid you to seek her out. The Kami took her memories, for what purpose I am unaware, but when memories of _ him _ surface, they hurt her. At this time, I take her to the West, where she may recover in the luxury of my Shiro."

"Tsukiakari no naka de Shiro?" Kohaku gasped.

"Hn," he nodded. "The Castle in the Moonlight."

"You never speak of it," Miroku murmured, "but I have always wondered if it is as beautiful as it is rumoured?"

"More so," Sesshomaru admitted. "Leaving is bittersweet, for one must go, but one sees it in its glory when one returns. When she remembers and asks for you, this one will send word. For now, she needs time to adjust."

"Adjust?" Sango whispered.

Again he hesitated. "She is no longer human. The Kami returned her to this one as a youkai."

"What kind?" the monk asked, an annoying smile on his lips. 

"Kitsune," the smile slipped and made Sesshomaru feel better, "and Inu. She also retains her strength as the Shikon Miko."

"That's… impossible," Kohaku murmured. 

"Evidently, it is not." He turned to leave and headed into the trees. "Speak _ nothing _ of this to InuYasha."

He'd passed beyond the light of their fire when the monk sprinted after him.

"My lord, wait!"

He paused and eyed Miroku impatiently. 

"I have two questions left."

"Make haste. I left my pack behind a barrier." It was highly unlikely anything would break through it, but not impossible.

He bowed and rose, his face serious. "We seek a village to begin rebuilding what Sango and Kohaku lost. If we consider one in the West, would you be opposed to it?"

He arched a brow. A taijiya village in his territory? "This one would have conditions and expectations. You would be required to submit to me as your Lord."

"I'm certain agreements can be made. Protecting people is what we are good at."

"And the second?"

The monk's smile appeared and became amused. "What was your heart wish, my Lord?"

"That is not your concern." He walked into the dark.

Miroku called out, "I sincerely hope you receive it."

Sesshomaru didn't speak, but he too was beginning to think the Kami might have answered his heart wish. 

Only time would tell.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: smut, implied smut, blood and mild gore

* * *

InuYasha sat pouting in a tree. He'd convinced Kikyou that something was going on and followed Miroku and Sango to investigate, but Kikyou had insisted on being prepared and taken her sweet time packing. By the time they got on the road, InuYasha had just been able to keep the monk and slayers in sensing distance. 

Since her return to life, Kikyou had lost almost all of her spiritual power. The wish she'd always held in her heart, to be just a simple village woman, had finally come true. But InuYasha was not just a simple village man, and in truth, missed adventuring with the others. 

Yes, he was still pissed at Kagome for her wish. Sure it was selfless, but the wench owed him. If she were dying, she should have given the jewel to him or Kikyou, not just wished it to the Kami. What the hell kind of choice was that?

He wanted to be a full demon, had wanted that all his life. Even after all he'd accomplished, he was still looked down on for his bloodline. 

And when Kagome left him, choosing to abandon their pack for his hated half-brother, it left InuYasha speechless. He'd made his choice, she said, and she had made hers. 

What choice? Just cause he was fucking around with Kikyou didn't mean he didn't care. He kind of always figured when Naraku died, Kikyou would return to hell, and he and Kagome would go on as they had, but all that changed the minute Sesshomaru entered the picture. 

His asshole half-brother always took everything from him, and this time, what he stole ended up dead. He didn't care what anyone said. Kagome was part of Sesshomaru's pack. _ He _should have been there to save her. InuYasha was busy saving _his _pack member. Sesshomaru should have looked after Kagome, no matter the plan.

And now he was losing the rest of his pack. Sango and Miroku shouldn't have tried to leave him behind. They should have told him where they were going, not given some half-truth about the slayer's village. Now, they were well and truly ahead of him because Kikyou wanted to wander through the stupid village and hear what the commotion was all about with this "kami" who saved some idiot girls.

It hadn't gone well. The village had become guarded with InuYasha's arrival and given them only the bare minimum of information though they showed no disrespect.

"InuYasha, come eat," Kikyou called.

He jumped out of the tree. "Feh. Not that hungry."

She glared at him and shoved a bowl under his nose. 

Kikyou couldn't cook, not like Kagome, and never tried when they travelled as two packs. Always Sango or Kagome cooked the meals, and the then dead Miko never bothered to learn. It was her biggest flaw, even in her first life.

Now, InuYasha really missed Kagome's cooking.

"What's it?" he asked.

"Fish stew."

It smelled like feet, but she was watching him, so he forced a smile, held his breath, and poured the noxious concoction down his throat. His iron stomach protested almost instantly. 

"Mm. S'good." He fought not to gag.

She scowled and picked at the food. "We should have stayed in the village. I am still a trained Miko, you are a youkai exterminator, and we killed Naraku. People will put us up for a night."

"I told you, Sango and Miroku were gettin' out of range. We have to stay where I can sense them."

"I do not know why you keep on with this nonsense, InuYasha. Kagome is dead, my soul is back with me, and those three have left to find their own path. It is time for us to begin our new lives."

She banked the fire carefully, rose and walked to where she'd laid out blankets to sleep on, and slowly began to strip. 

Her pale skin glowed in the firelight, black hair highlighted with red as she revealed her body to him and laid down, wantonly spreading herself open. "Come, my love. I yearn for our child to grow inside me. Take me. Mark me. Make me yours."

The scent of her drove him wild. It was so much better than the grave soil and ash stink of her dead body, and he stripped himself swiftly to fall between her thighs.

Their rut was wild and passionate, and when it was over, she smiled and turned on her side to sleep, but her neck remained unmarked. 

It made him feel guilty, but InuYasha wasn't a complete idiot. Marking her doomed him. Marking her meant a lifetime of pain after she was gone. He loved her, but he didn't love her enough not to move on and seek out a mate after she died.

He wouldn't chance that disappointment. Not for Kikyou. Not for Kagome. 

Not for any human.

***

Sango cried silent tears after Sesshomaru left, leaving Miroku feeling like an ass because there was nothing to do, nothing he could say that would make them stop.

"Sango, you are being irrational," Kohaku murmured.

Miroku sucked in his breath and held exceptionally still. That was _not _the correct thing to say to a woman. Nope. Not ever.

"What did you just say?" she hissed at her brother. 

Kohaku's eyes went wide. "Whoa, calm down, sis."

_ Strike two_, Miroku flinched. 

"Seriously?" she snarled. 

Kohaku sighed. "All I'm trying to say is you should be _happy_. Kagome is _alive. _ Getting upset over the fact that you cannot see her _ right now _ is foolish."

The dark aura around Sango grew thicker until Hiraikotsu smacked Kohaku in the head, sending the boy tumbling unconscious to the ground. 

"You got anything to say, _ monk_?" she growled. 

Miroku held up his hands in surrender. "Your brother is a young idiot." A snort escaped her as she lowered her weapon. "I do have an observation if you are willing to listen?"

She sighed. "Fine. What?"

"What was missing when Sesshomaru appeared?"

Sango frowned at him. "I don't know what you mean."

"From his person, Sango. What was missing from his person?" Miroku coaxed. 

There was a moment of confusion before her eyes widened. "His mokomoko!"

"Yes," Miroku nodded. "I asked him about it once. The mokomoko is something I've only ever seen on Sesshomaru until the Western Army arrived. There were so many sizes and shapes, but nothing like his. It is massive where most are little more than a cuff at the shoulders. A few of his generals had longer ones, but they were paltry in comparison to Sesshomaru's."

"What did he say?" 

Miroku rose and went to sit at her side, assured now of his safety from his wife's wrath. "The mokomoko is a manifestation of the youkai's strength outside their true form. When Sesshomaru takes on his more humanoid appearance, some of his power must be channelled into a physical manifestation that is not his body, hence the mokomoko. In that form, it can be damaged, even destroyed, though both are nearly impossible and is the reason it goes where he does. Leaving it with another shows _ great _ trust."

"Great trust…" she whispered, staring into the fire. "So… if he left it with Kagome…"

Miroku waited for her to suss it out. 

Her eyes darted up to his. "She's his mate!"

"Hm," he smiled and nodded. "I suspect the same. What if Lord Sesshomaru's heart wish _ was _Kagome, but a Kagome he could keep?"

"He wouldn't mate a human, not because we thought he despised humans, but because of what he said. She would leave him in less than a century!"

Miroku chuckled. "Exactly. I believe that he cared deeply for her when she was human, but to have her for his own and lose her so quickly would devastate him."

"Her death didn't seem to affect him," she muttered. 

"That we know of, Sango. He is a Daiyoukai. What do we know of how he grieves? And if she wasn't gone long, he may never have fully processed his grief. He never had to."

"I'm glad Shippo is with him. At least they are together," Sango sighed. 

"And, if it is your wish, I have secured an opportunity to speak with Sesshomaru about settling in the Western Lands. We will, of course, be indebted to him, but we know he is an honourable demon. I did not think it would be a hardship being closer to Kagome."

Her mouth dropped, and her eyes widened before she threw her arms around him. "You did?"

"Yes," he smiled and stroked her back. "And it will only be a little while. Give them time, my love. If they are courting, they deserve the chance to do so without distractions."

She settled against him, head on his chest. "Why do you think she has no memories?"

He didn't know, but he trusted that whatever the reason, the Kami knew what they were doing.

***

Sesshomaru woke his pack early, Kagome first with gentle touches and a soft rumble. Watching her blink open big, sapphire orbs and smile up at him almost caused his resolve to waver, but after last night, he knew this would be his test. He would wait until the Kami deemed her ready to remember InuYasha, then he would pursue her without stopping until she lay naked beneath him with his fangs in her throat. 

That didn't mean he wouldn't continue to spend private, intimate moments with her. He would show his affection, give it freely, speak to her as his equal so she would know his respect. She was his alpha female. She held power over him in that position, and Sesshomaru would be certain she knew it.

"Good morning," she whispered into the quiet, predawn light.

"Miko," he purred, his voice dripping with affection.

She blinked, apparently surprised as she sat up and turned to face him. Her small hand landed on his chest, steadying her when she pressed her face to his throat and nuzzled under his chin.

He went hard as steel when her tongue slid along his jaw and licked the corner of his mouth.

"Vixen," he rumbled, dragging her into his lap to set his fangs to her throat. 

She sighed, a smile in the noise, as he used teeth and tongue and sucking lips to enhance their morning ritual last done in their true forms.

"Alpha," she moaned, heat and spice filling his nose.

A vicious wave of desire shot through his cock and left him aching.

His resolve wavered, then refocused. If the Miko was desperate, if she wanted, why couldn't he show her the desire he would fulfill fully in the future? He did not need to mate with her to bring her pleasure, and if her mind were full of him when her memories of InuYasha returned, she would choose him, of this, he was certain.

He dragged her thigh across his lap and forced her to straddle him, urging his pelt to cover her back in case any woke before he was through. Then he dragged open the front of her kosode, baring her chest bindings. 

"Maru?" she gasped, suddenly uncertain.

A rumble of desire left him." You have needs, little one. As your alpha, I must see those needs fulfilled."

Her eyes glowed a light pink in the darkness. "But you said no mating until I got my memories back."

His smile flashed his fangs. "Who said anything about mating?" He jerked her hips down and rucked up, pressing his length to her silk-covered core. 

She gasped, neck arched, body humming with pleasure, spice flooding her sweet sakura scent, and Sesshomaru relished every sound. But he had little desire to be covered in the smell of their non-mating when he returned home and instead skimmed his hand over her thigh to cup her hot, wet mound and gently rub her through her undergarments. 

Her eyes went blind, but her claws pierced his shoulders. He growled softly, careful not to wake the others, and began to run his tongue up her throat. Each time he closed his teeth on the bruise he'd left the day before, sucking and pulling on it, her scent spiked hotter.

She began to shudder and moan and rock her hips, gradually growing louder. He used his free hand to bury in her hair and drag her mouth to his throat to stifle her, bringing her ear within his reach. He sucked the lobe and bit gently at her pounding pulse, her slick beginning to coat his hand, the silk of her undergarment no barrier between his fingers and her hard little pearl.

"You will come for me, Miko, on my word. You will not make a sound when you do, or I will not touch you again before our mating."

She sighed but nodded, her claws piercing his shoulders over and over, merely adding to his building pleasure. 

"You may bite this one if you need to," he murmured, bracing himself for it when her mouth latched tight to his flesh. 

The fabric of her undergarment parted beneath his rough treatment, and he was suddenly stroking slick, wet skin, her pearl pulsing with her rapid heartbeat. 

Unable to deny himself one last torment, Sesshomaru curled a clawed finger and let it slip inside her wet embrace. "Come, Vixen."

Her body clenched, driving forward, collapsing into his in a rigid arch. She shook violently but made no sound, and though she bit him, she drew no blood. 

Her reaction, far greater than he expected, saw him fighting for control when he almost came in his fundoshi like a pup at first rut. But he saw his female through it, marvelling at the scent of her pouring over him, at the tightness of her, of the intensity of her response. 

"Perfect, perfect bitch," he sighed when she relaxed and allowed him to draw his hand away. 

She punched him weakly. "Don't call me bitch."

He almost winced, having forgotten. "My apologies." 

Bitch was a derogatory term in her future, one he learned InuYasha used as a slight to her whenever he was angry. It was so deeply ingrained in her that she remembered her dislike of the word did not surprise him, but that the hanyou had spoiled something so special to their culture made Sesshomaru livid.

She licked his throat, her tongue soothing the relatively painless bite. "I don't know why that bothers me. I am one, but the word… it makes me irrationally angry."

"I am aware," he chuckled. 

She sat back, her cheeks red, and smiled shyly at him from behind down swept lashes. "That was… unexpected."

"But welcome?" he asked, curious if she regretted it. Right now, all he could smell was the fluid remaining on his fingers and nothing else.

"Yes. Very," she whispered. "I enjoyed it."

"Good." He flexed his fingers in her hair. "Intimacy of this nature is natural for our kind when courting. I am happy to assist you in learning your passions, Kagome."

She nodded slowly, still not looking at him, and both of them jumped when Ah-Un snorted. 

Embarrassment flooded her scent, but before she could scurry off, he jerked her gently back to face him until her big blue eyes locked with his.

"There is no shame in indulging in passion, Ka-go-me," he purred, bringing his hand to his lips and slowly licking every drop of her essence from them. 

It made his head spin, and eyelids go heavy with how lush and delicious she tasted, her powers new and old enhancing the tingling treat. He ran his tongue over his fingers, sucked them into his mouth, and rumbled happily. By the time he finished, she was panting, and every ounce of embarrassment was gone.

"Maru," she whispered, eyes on his lips.

"We leave soon and head straight for the Shiro. We can no longer delay. Go. You will wish to clean up and change clothing before the others wake." He would not stay where InuYasha could find them.

She nodded, the lust clouding her eyes diminishing quickly, but a little kitsune smirk curled her lips as she leaned closer, her lips but a breath from his. "Thank you, alpha," she whispered, once again licking the corner of his mouth. "I look forward to your next lesson."

He growled, and she giggled, dashing off to Ah-Un to dig through her packages for the one she wanted before skirting the dragon and heading up the river out of sight. 

As Sesshomaru watched her go, he wondered why it felt like _she _had won a victory?

***

When Kagome returned, Sesshomaru had composed himself, Rin was awake and preparing breakfast, and Jaken was muttering about whatever the imp usually muttered about in the morning. 

He looked up upon her appearance, and his breath caught in his throat. She was a vision in red and gold, but not any red and gold. She dressed in a modified version of a Chinese court gown, and it suited her like nothing he'd ever seen.

The blood-red dress flowed beautifully behind her in a train and long sleeves. It banded across her chest with a golden ribbon also used to edge the neckline, layered against a black underdress. Her status ribbons - those worn draped at the elbow by females of importance - were a thin one of cloth of gold, and a wider red worked with curls and swirls of golden thread. 

Swept back from her face creating small knots like rosettes, she kept her hair in place with sticks that jangled with crescent moons and stars, while the rest of her beautiful black waves fell down her spine.

Her pelt gleamed with health on her shoulder, and tails - ever curious - twitched bewitchingly at her back like a fan.

When she stood before him, a curious wariness upon her, Sesshomaru reached out to lightly tuck a lock of hair behind her pointed ear. "You chose this?"

"Hm," she tilted her head. 

"You are aware of what it is?" he asked cautiously. 

"I know it is a modified Hanfu court dress from the continent, but I'm not sure why I know that." She peeked up at him from behind down swept lashes.

He hadn't heard it called that before, but that did not mean she was wrong. Many words had changed in her future. "Do you speak the dialect? The koiné language of the Imperials?"

She blinked up at him. "How would I know?"

"Nǐ liǎojiě wǒ ma?" He simply asked if she understood him.

"Shi," Kagome replied, blinked and then chuckled. "Well, that verifies that."

"Indeed. My mother will approve, as I approve," he smiled, lifting her chin to see her eyes better.

She mirrored his smile before walking over to her discarded pile of clothing, where she placed the yukata from yesterday inside the empty package. 

Once she had it tied to Ah-Un, she woke Shippo, fed the kit, and had the camp cleaned in no time. 

The dragon was already in the air with the rest of their pack when Sesshomaru drew Kagome to him, mokomoko curling around her waist and legs. "You did not eat."

"I did. A small fish caught my eye. It was delicious."

"Hm. If you wanted a raw meal, you needed only to tell your alpha. I would have provided." Even to his ears, he sounded like he was pouting.

She smiled and lifted her hand to his cheek, her pelt twining with his. "It was there and easily caught. I would never willfully deny you the chance to provide, Maru."

Appeased, he nuzzled into her hand, formed his cloud beneath their feet, and took off toward the west as dawn broke the horizon behind them.

***

They were only minutes from the pass that would take them to his mountain home when the scent of blood and smoke came to him on the breeze.

There were no sounds of battle, but he sped forward for something was wrong.

They approached the mountain range rising against the horizon, clouds clinging to its stony peak. The way to his valley cut through the heart of the tallest mountain, a tunnel big enough to fit his true form. From a glacier captured in the high ranges, a river ran down to the valley floor, and a smaller stream wove it's way through the tunnel, allowing low growth to take root and give the walk a magical feel of enchantment.

How he longed to linger and show Kagome his home, the walk through the sky window, and the castle he would present to her in time, but it was not to be. 

On the far side, where he usually stood to admire his valley and exquisite home, he paused this time to take in the damage. 

A fire burned in the village, the homes damaged or destroyed. One wing of his Shiro smoked, blackened by ash, and the army he'd sent home was in disarray. 

"Oh, oh, Sesshomaru! This is terrible!" Kagome gasped.

"This one must find his generals." He turned and placed her swiftly behind Rin on Ah-Un. "Straight to the Shiro. Rin, Kagome goes with you to your room. Jaken, protect them with your life."

"Yes, milord!" Jaken nodded frantically.

***

He leapt into the air, a giant roar echoing down the valley that sent a cheer rising from the people.

"Ah-Un, go," Kagome commanded, though she had no intention of hiding away in a room if she could help.

The dragon flew over the village, all of them silent as they viewed the damage up close. It was terrible, worse than she first thought. Homes burned or lay in shatter pieces. Others smoked as blackened ruins. People ran without purpose or sat with head in hands while others helped the wounded. 

As they approached the Shiro - one that was stunning in its gleaming white facade even with the smoke damage and scorched wing - Ah-Un bulged his presence. Weapons flicked up but quickly lowered when they recognized the dragon. 

A courtyard spread out before the Shiro's stairs, one of gravel stirred up by running feet and dyed red with new and old blood. 

Kagome gripped her big yellow pack and hauled it to her shoulder. "Shippo! With me."

The kit scrambled around Rin and latched onto the bag as Kagome pushed from the dragon's back, accidentally taking Jaken with them. 

She landed without incident lightly in the yard, but Jaken slammed down on his head. Soldiers turned to look, then gape at her standing there in her dress, but it was the smell of open wounds that sent her sprinting for the Shiro's front entrance.

"Hey!" someone yelled. "Stop!"

Kagome didn't stop. She knew this, knew how to help the wounded, and ran through the doors only to slide on her booted feet to a standstill. 

It was complete chaos. There were screaming, dying, bleeding youkai everywhere.

"Who is in charge here?" she barked, only to be ignored. 

A low growl built inside her, and Shippo tucked himself up under her hair as those who'd called out for her to stop came after her. She pulsed her aura once letting everything she was crackle in the room, halting those behind her in their tracks, informing them she was not a youkai with which to be trifled.

Some screamed, some grabbed for weapons, others simply froze.

Kagome growled softly, her chin high. "_Who _ is in charge here?"

"No… no one," one cowering inu murmured. "The healer, Mako, died in the attack."

"Did Mako have assistants? Or ones they were training?" she snapped.

"He- here, my lady." A few hands raised.

She swept her gaze over the room and dropped her bag on the floor. "I am Kagome, the alpha female of Lord Sesshomaru's pack, and firstborn of the House of the Sun. You will assist me in treating the wounded. Shippo," she murmured to the kit, "show them how to triage."

"Yes, mama," he whispered, shifting out from under her hair and down into the crook of her arm.

The three males, two inu and a wolf hurried closer. 

"This is my son, Shippo. He will show you how to sort the wounded. Anyone who's wound is life-threatening, you will bring to me," she scanned the hall and growled for it would not do, "in the courtyard. I need access to your servants and your healer's stock of herbs."

"That wing burned in the attack," the wolf announced, bowing to her. "There are no more supplies."

Kagome frowned but gave a determined nod. "Then we will do this the hard way. Shippo, get started. Send the walking wounded out the doors to the left, those who need assistance to the right; those who are immobile, lay them beyond the stairs." Shippo yipped and ran off, dragging her bag out of the way before quickly assessing, then attaching green, yellow or red leaves to the hands or chest of the wounded. "Are there any who cannot be moved?" she asked, after a moment of proudly watching her smart little kit.

The blond inu bowed. "At least two, my lady."

"Show me. You two, assist my kit." She nodded to them and followed the other. 

He led her across the room to a bull youkai with a broken blade sticking out his chest. The metal glowing with red power gave her pause. Something about it screamed danger. 

She didn't touch it but laid her hand on the bull. He rolled dark eyes toward her and breathed in hard, shallow pants. 

"What is your name?" she asked with a soft smile. 

"Saab," he whispered.

"Saab," she nodded. "I'm Kagome. I'm going to help you, try not to fight me."

He nodded minutely.

"Good." She brought her hand up to the sword but still didn't touch it. It radiated evil like she'd never seen. A low growl left her as she drew pink radiance to her hands and directed it into the metal. 

Saab bellowed and thrashed, and Kagome stopped. She could not purify the weapon without purifying the youkai.

Kagome soothed Saab with gentle murmurs when he rolled fearful eyes toward her, but spoke to the Inu standing at her back. "Get me something leather. Something thick that I can wrap around this."

The blond was staring at her in shock and horror. 

"Move!" she bellowed. He fell back but still didn't leave, continuing to stare.

Kagome was moments away from biting the wolf when, from across the room, another emerged. He was tall, dirty, covered in soot, and carried himself with an air of authority. He crossed the floor with quick strides, jerking leather gloves from his waist as he threw back a wealth of dark hair. 

"My lady?" He held them out. 

She flashed him a smile, "Thanks," and slipped the too-big items on before stepping up on the bull's hip. As he was triple her size, she didn't think her slight weight would bother him.

"My lady, you will soil your gown," he murmured. 

"Do I look like I give a damn about my gown?" she snarled. "He'll die if I don't get this out. Now, you can stand there and scowl or you can be of use and find something to put this sword in."

He arched a brow, a smile curling his lips before he called for a bucket. 

Kagome figured it would do well enough. Then, she wrapped her hands around the sword and slowly began to pull it out. Again Saab bellowed and thrashed, but she unleashed her aura, pulsing it in a soothing tone that saw the big bull slowly relaxing. 

Blood pumped from the wound, but she kept pulling and dropped the sword fragment into the bucket when it came free. She shook off the gloves, shoved them at the tall youkai, and laid her hands over the oozing wound. 

Pink bloomed around her hands and gave the world a rosy tint as she used her power to knit together bones and tissue and remove the mess of tainted youki slowly souring in the bull.

"Shippo!" she called out, not taking her eyes off the wound. "The antibiotic wash!"

He appeared beside her, a small jar in hand, and slowly poured the liquid over the gash. When it didn't foam or fizzle to indicate infection, she nodded and closed the rest of the wound.

"I've got a couple of servants boiling water to make more. They scrounged enough of the other herbs from elsewhere, but they're short on the honeysuckle stems," Shippo murmured.

She shot a glance at the tall youkai. "If you can have someone gather them for me, I can dry it in fox flame."

He waved for a servant. "I will see it done, my lady."

Kagome nodded and turned her attention back to the bull. The wound closed but was still raw and red. "Shippo-" He already had the jar of salve open, and she yipped her approval as he left it where she could reach it and jumped to her back to use the golden ribbon hanging at her elbows to tie up her sleeves. Anyone watching would see the confidence in the kit's movements and know they had done this many times before.

Once the salve was applied, she looked to the blond inu. "If my power bothers you, you can leave."

He rapidly shook his head. "No, milady."

"Then stop sitting on your thumbs and cover this wound. He is not to move. Once a permanent infirmary is created, he is to be transferred there," Kagome snapped, her eyes flashing with annoyance.

The inu bowed deeply. "Yes, milady."

"Where is the next patient?" she called out.

"Here, milady!" the wolf waved. 

Kagome dropped to the ground, patted Saab's shoulder, and hurried on, brushing by the tall youkai as she went. He simply turned and followed her, carrying the two jars Shippo shoved into his hands. 

Her new patient was a kitsune with an arrow through his shoulder and multiple broken bones. Again the weapon glowed red and gave her pause. 

Just what was it about that glow that left her wary of touching it?

Leather gloves dangled before her. She took them without hesitation, then quickly snapped the head off the arrow before pulling it out. The gloves went back to their owner, and she placed her hands front and back of the kitsune to deal with both the taint and his injuries.

"You're lucky," she murmured. "A half-inch more, and you wouldn't be here."

The fox smiled. "Pity. I would have missed seeing your face."

She arched a brow. "Your lord would not appreciate you flirting with me."

"But do you appreciate me flirting with you?" he asked, teasing even as he winced.

Kagome blinked once and removed her hands. "No." But a smile softened her rejection. "You can set the rest of his bones. I have repaired the punctured lung," she spoke to the assistant.

"Yes, milady." The wolf bowed.

Kagome looked up at the tall youkai. "No one with wounds leaves before I've seen them no matter how minor." She didn't like what she'd found in these first two, not one bit.

He arched a brow but bowed to her. "I will see it done, milady."

She rose and repeated the process, moving outside when she finished with the worst of them. By then, Shippo had the servants brewing up more of her medicinal washes and was riding herd on a few more to see those who had minor wounds had them cleaned, washed out, and bandaged before she got to them.

A basket of honeysuckle was thrust under her nose. She shoved it back. "Remove the leaves and flowers, then return to me."

She treated three more youkai with her shadow following before the basket reappeared. 

Blue foxfire coated her hand, and she lowered it over the stems, watching as they crackled and dried like they'd spent days in the sun. "Give them to my son. He knows what to do."

"Miss Rin is with him," the tall youkai murmured. 

"Mm, she also knows." 

Kagome paid no mind to the people around her. She directed when asked, commanded when needed, and healed her way through hundreds of youkai as the day wore on, and the heat of the sun pounded down on her back. 

It wasn't until she was on the last few that she felt her strength waning. It was getting harder to lift her arms, to smile, to assure anyone. She even missed the powerful aura until he landed right behind her. 

"Miko."

"One minute," she murmured, checking the last headwound had closed. The wide eyes of the Wind youkai spoke volumes. Apparently, people didn't ignore Lord Sesshomaru. 

"No. Now," he growled.

She frowned, but pushed to her feet and turned to face him only for black spots to fill her vision. She saw the concern flash in his eyes before everything went dark.

***

Sesshomaru caught her as she fainted and hoisted her into his arms. "This one is disappointed in you, Kentaro."

"She was a force, my Lord. Unstoppable. All I could do was follow and play serving tray," he smirked, holding out two jars and a pair of gloves. "She healed five hundred wounded, my Lord. _Five_ _hundred."_

"Hn." Kentaro's eyes fairly glowed with excitement, with awe, but then Sesshomaru had seen her do something similar during the war. "What is that?" He nodded toward the bucket full of bits of metal.

"Pieces of weapons removed from the wounded. She would not touch them with her bare hands. Hands that wielded reiki as easily as they did youki. Just what kind of lady have you brought us, my Lord?"

He pulled her closer and didn't deign to answer. "If she would not touch them, they should not be touched. Put them somewhere safe until this one can examine them further."

"Of course, my Lord," Kentaro bowed. 

He glanced past the male to Rin, clutching an exhausted Shippo, appearing spent herself. "Jaken. Escort Rin and Shippo to her room, see they eat. The kit will stay with her tonight."

Without waiting for a response, Sesshomaru headed for the front of his Shiro and watched in silent awe as his people bowed deeply, reverently, each murmuring their thanks and well wishes to the lady.

All could tell by the diminished aura she had exhausted herself, but she would be fine with rest.

He took her inside, walked hallways and stairwells, finally arriving at the hot springs built into the keep. A few servants lingered, but Sesshomaru growled, "Leave."

They scurried out, shut the door, and left him alone with his injured female. There was too much blood and too many scents on her for his liking. He had not expected her to dive in as she had, take charge, and rollover any resistance, but he should have known better. 

Even as he'd stood in the village speaking with his generals, finding out what happened, a handful of soldiers raced up, yapping about the female barking orders over the wounded.

She claimed she was _his _alpha female, Kagome of the House of the Sun.

He told them to find Kentaro, put him at her side, and do whatever she ordered. Apparently, healing five hundred youkai was what she commanded. 

Well, she'd made an impression, though he was annoyed she'd drained herself to do so.

He knelt and lowered her to his mokomoko, already pooling on the floor before stripping himself to the skin. Covered in dirt and ash, he needed the bath as badly as she did.

He'd worked shoulder to shoulder with his men, putting out fires, rescuing those trapped, and moving the dead to an area where their families could find and collect their bodies, all while trying to discover who was responsible for the attack that took his forces by surprise.

Knelt naked at Kagome's side, Sesshomaru simply cut the gown off her. Pity, it was beautiful, but they would never get the blood, gore, and stench out of it now.

He plucked her hair ornaments from her dark locks and laid them with his armour. All would be collected and cleaned when they left. 

For one long moment, he admired her beauty, her breasts free of the bindings that contained them, lush mounds he desired to touch and taste but refrained and scooped her and their joint pelts into his arms before walking into the water.

Everything was filthy. 

He sent his pelt, tangled with hers, to soak under the falling water at the head of the pool. It flowed in one side and out the other, cleansing both the bather and the spring. A smaller alcove complete with a carved seat allowed one to take their leisure and simply soak away their aches. 

He took her there where soaps and oils waited for his use, the reason for the servants upon his arrival. He wasn't opposed to being bathed, but he would have none attend his Miko but him. No one would see the delicate stripes on her body, her hips, her thighs, but for him.

As he settled with her in his lap, he gently cupped the hot water and used it to wash the blood from her chest, neck, and face. He cleaned it from her claws, her hands, arms and from her legs. Then, he wet her hair, working his claws through the mass until it too was free of the stench of soldiers and filth. 

By the time he was adding a lightly scented oil to her hair to make it shine, she had begun to stir. She gave a soft moan, scrunched up her nose, and finally opened her eyes. They immediately found his. 

"Maru?"

"Miko."

She looked around and quickly sat up, covering her chest with her arms. "What? Where? How?"

He chucked and slipped his fingers beneath her hair to squeeze her nape. "You healed a great portion of my men, then fainted in my arms."

"Oh!" she gasped. "Did I finish?"

"As far as I could tell. You impressed Kentaro."

She frowned. "My shadow?"

Sesshomaru smiled. "Yes, your shadow."

"Did you send him?" she asked, brow furrowed adorably.

"Hn," he nodded. "His presence confirmed your right to command."

"Oh? Because I was commanding just fine before he got there," she pouted. 

He took hold of her wrists and pulled them away from her body to draw them around his neck. "And did it get easier after his arrival?"

She went willingly, settling across his lap. "I suppose. He did as told, at least. Did you find out what happened? Who did this?"

He shook his head. "We are still trying to piece it together. The reports are… mixed."

"Mixed?" she frowned. 

"Hm. We will discuss it later," he murmured, rubbing his nose along her jaw.

"Shippo and Rin?" she sighed her scent one of contentment.

His heart swelled with affection. Of course, she worried for the pups, as any good alpha bitch would. 

"I had Jaken see they ate and were put to bed in Rin's room. It is across from my own."

She hummed her understanding, clearly tired as she looked around the room, an enclosed hot spring of boulders and moss with ventilation built-in along the roof. "This is nice."

"It is for the pack alone to use. Where the water flows back into the rock there," he pointed with his chin, content to leave his hands around her waist, "it appears again further down where a public bath is available to the rest of this one's Shiro."

"So we have all this to ourselves?" she smirked, bringing her body into direct contact with his. Pebbled nipples stroked like fire over his skin and left him growling. She no longer looked as tired as before.

"Indeed."

She ducked her head and ran her nose up his throat. "All alone. Wet. Naked. Whatever should this poor inu-kitsune do, trapped with such an _ exquisite _alpha?"

He chuckled, enjoying her smart mouth. "Bathe me."

She jerked back. "Excuse me?"

He looked pointedly at the jars on the ledge. "Bathe me as I bathed you." 

She huffed a little, but then her eyes drifted to his hair, spread out floating like wisps of silver on the water's surface, though Sesshomaru could still smell smoke clinging to the strands. When sapphire eyes returned to his, they were almost ebony with desire. She always did love his hair though she'd never said it aloud. When he would sit and run his claws through it in the past, he often caught the look of longing on her face, the same one she wore now, though this time it was layered with heat as well as want.

"If that is what my lord wishes."

She drew away, hands drifting like feathers over his chest before she stood, shedding water and revealing her torso. Droplets beaded on her dark nipples that he longed to lick off. More water trickled and ran down her sleekly muscled belly. She was not the soft teenage girl he remembered meeting almost a decade ago. Now she was a woman grown with the mature body of one ripe for the taking. 

He would never admit to it aloud, but more than once he'd caught sight of her bathing in a hot spring during their travels. She attracted trouble like a feral dog did mange, and he'd patrolled the area when she bathed with the children, keeping lesser youkai away.

While she'd transformed from human to youkai, her beautiful body had only been enhanced by what the Kami had done.

She moved like a water serpent with barely a ripple, not a hint of her past shyness upon her. This, too, was likely imparted wisdom from his father as the human Kagome balked at pack bathing. It was immodest in her time, and Sesshomaru never pushed the issue. 

Her defence and that of the pups would have been much easier had he been allowed to join her, but his shy Miko and her human foibles would not allow it.

He was glad she no longer felt such restrictions.

He watched her make her way to the ledge where the jars and bottles waited. Each was lifted, smelt, and set down. Some she sniffed and grimaced before placing them well out of reach.

Those he vowed to have discarded. If she disliked them, they would not be offered for use again. 

As she made her selections, Sesshomaru murmured, "You did well today."

She glanced his way and smiled. "Mm. There was no hesitation. I knew just what to do. That I appear to remember. Just like I remember herbs, and plants, and potions, and how I knew not to touch those weapons."

"Why? What stopped you?"

She turned to face him, but her eyes were far away. "They stink of evil. A rotten filth so old and so corrosive, I didn't dare touch them."

"And the ones you took them from?"

Her eyes focused on him. "Once removed, the taint they left behind was easily purified. I was in time to stop the spread." She crossed to him and placed her hand on his shoulder. 

"The spread of what?" 

Her claws flexed into his flesh. "Evil. Pure evil." 

The ominous words felt heavy in the room before she lightly patted his shoulder. "Wet your hair."

He glanced at her. "Are you not bathing me?"

She arched an amused brow. "So, it's like that?" He smirked. "So be it."

A bucket of cold water splashed over his head and left him sputtering. "Dammit, woman!"

"Next time, don't be an arrogant ass, my Lord, and wet your own damn hair," she snickered, helping him clear the damp locks from his face. 

As she was behind him, he tilted his head back to see her smirking face and received a kiss between the brows, pressed right to the mark on his forehead for his trouble.

"Vixen," he muttered, glaring up at her.

"You like it," she taunted. 

He tilted his head down and refused to answer.

Small hands slipped over his shoulders and down his chest as she leaned against him. "Pouting, Maru? How unbecoming of my Daiyoukai."

"You try this one's patience, something fierce, Miko," he scoffed, but he did like it. No one challenged him as she did. No one teased him, taunted him, put him in his place. It was refreshing to be treated as equal to one person—the only person who mattered.

She laughed and stepped back to lather soap between her palms and work it over his scalp, causing Sesshomaru to close his eyes in bliss. The gentle scratch of her claws, the firm pressure from the pads of her fingers, the slow circling motion all made him feel so calm. She carded her fingers through the long length, pulling only a little as she worked more lather down the strands. 

He was so relaxed that when she encouraged his head back and held it in her palm, he didn't even register the open nature of his throat so thorough was his trust. Even when warm water poured slowly over his hair, he could do little more than hum in pleasure. 

Again, she kissed the moon on his forehead and encouraged him to sit up, her fingers still working through his hair. He was surprised when she flipped the braid over his shoulder, for he hadn't even noticed her weaving the lengths together. Then, all thoughts left his brain when her small hands began to spread soap over his shoulders and back. 

The erection which had waned renewed with a vengeance, but again, her hands soothed, finding knots in muscles he hadn't known where there and digging them out with persistent persuasion. She smoothed down his spine, her knuckles now creating the pressure that made him release a canine sounding whine of pleasure when they dug firmly into his maroon marks and muscles. He didn't even care. Her hands were working some sort of future magic he knew nothing about. 

When he felt limp as the ramen InuYasha ate like it was sacred, she went back to washing, using a cloth to rub down his limbs, scrub over his back, and the length of his neck. Then she shifted around in front of him, and he blinked open hazy eyes as she stepped between his knees and ran her soapy cloth over his chest, gradually working lower over his abdomen. It did nothing to assuage the length of steel throbbing between his legs to sit there with her breasts in his face. 

By her smile, she was well aware of that fact. "If my lord wishes this one to wash his legs, he will need to stand."

It was a dare, a challenge, but not one toward his status. This was playful, seductive, tempting, something she'd taught him from her future. A few challenges could be fun, like stealing the ramen from InuYasha's bowl without him seeing it disappear. That had been fun and required a great deal of speed and precision. 

By the look of her, this, too, could prove rewarding if he _rose _to the challenge. 

He knew by her scent she was pure. The Miko had been untouched in her human life, as she remained to this day, but she was also well educated in the pleasures of the flesh thanks to her future era. 

At first, he'd found it shocking how open she was to answering his questions, but she'd given him her complete trust and faith when she'd asked to join his pack. Such granted him answers, she wouldn't willingly give another. 

They'd spoken at length about many things, and though it caused heat to rise in her cheeks, she'd discussed the more casual nature of sex where she came from. She knew the mechanics but had never put knowledge into practice.

Again this rebirth appeared not so shy, but then female kitsune were known to be sensual, erotic creatures with aggressive appetites. And female inu weren't much better, known to tease and entice their chosen mate to insanity. The loss of control and ravishment by one's mate was seen as a great point of pride in the females. The more often it happened, the higher her status in the eyes of other females, for it proved just how accomplished she was in the art of the bedroom.

Slowly, he pushed to his feet, rising out of the water. It hit him below the waist when at his full height, but still hid that which surged between his thighs, only giving tantalizing glimpses of pale flesh.

She lathered fresh soap into the cloth and ran it over his lower abdomen, around and over his buttocks before rubbing it down his thigh and repeating with the other leg. Then she stepped back.

"You missed a spot," he murmured, throwing out his own challenge.

"Did I?" There was a wealth of teasing mischief in her eyes.

"Yes." He would not back down. 

She arched a brow, fangs flashing in her smile as she reached for the bottle of oil and poured a little into her hand. Then she stepped closer, her gaze locked with Sesshomaru's, and ran her knuckles down his abdomen until she grew hesitant and stopped at the waterline.

Uncertainty flashed through sapphire depths, and Sesshomaru captured her wrist. "Touch me, Kagome."

She gave a small nod, and he lowered her hand beneath the water to curl her fingers around him. She gasped, and he growled, showing her how to stroke the length, squeeze around his crown and sinfully twist her wrist.

Once she had the rhythm, one that sent pleasure streaking like lightning up his spine, Sesshomaru smoothed his hands over her. He followed the long line of her neck, gently traced the marks on her cheeks, ran his claws through her drying hair, and finally cupped her nape.

Her eyes were dark and heavy-lidded as he slipped a hand down to cup her firm breast. A quiet sigh fled her lips. Her hand jerked when he found her sensitive nipple and plucked and rolled it with his fingers. 

But he was too tall to really tease his small Miko and slowly sat again, allowing her to follow his intentions and change her grip to accommodate. The touch of her hand on his length was divine.

"You're purring," she whispered. "Didn't know you could."

He hadn't noticed the low hum and vibration until she mentioned it, but Sesshomaru didn't stop. "When you touch me so well, how could I not?" he murmured, drawing her closer between his spread legs. 

Her breasts were the perfect height for his mouth, and he tasted her sweet flesh, catching and sucking her firm bud the size and colour of a dark berry. Her fingers flexed, tightening on him with her gasp, and he rumbled his approval.

"I will not break, Kagome." 

She tightened her fist.

Sesshomaru nuzzled the valley between her breasts and groaned when she quickened her pace. He ran his hands over her waist and hips, smoothed them over high, firm buttocks, and gently touched the area where her tails joined her spine. A shocked gasp of delight had him doing it again, rubbing small circles just there were her tails connected.

"Maru!" 

He could no longer think past the pleasure pounding in his blood and dragged her down on his thigh. His fangs nipped at her collarbone as he showed her how to ride and rub her swollen pearl against his muscle. 

She learned fast and soon was riding with abandon, grinding her slick heat into his leg while continuing to pull her hand along his cock. 

He opened his eyes to watch as her inhibitions flew away. Her cheeks were red, her eyes tightly shut, her lips parted as she panted hard for breath.

Again Sesshomaru rubbed the base of her tail before lifting a firm breast to his mouth. His hips jerked in time with her hand, fucking into the tight ring of her fingers. His fangs lengthened without his permission, nicking the skin near her nipple, allowing her blood to drip into his mouth. 

He groaned, her taste unbelievably sweet and full of power. She was addictive- a drug he would never stop craving. When her wound healed, he nicked her again, sucking vigorously and lapping at the hard nub.

"Maru!" she cried, her free hand clawing at his back as she fought for more friction.

Instead, he forced her to stand, thrust his hand between her thighs and rubbed her swollen pearl with unbridled enthusiasm. 

There was a steady rise in power. Heady, thick, drugging power that coated him like a layer of wet snow, heavy but warm. He bit her again, slipping a finger inside her fluttering walls as the power coalesced between them into a climax unlike any he'd felt before. 

He came with a roar, muffled by her flesh, pulsing and pumping into her fist as she screamed and rocked her hips, riding out her release on his hand. The tight flexing of her temple's walls gave him such a thrill. He wanted more than anything to feel that on his cock.

When, finally, after long moments just resting together, he drew his hand away, he was disappointed to find her essence washed off in the water before he could get it to his lips.

Then, soft and warm, her tongue dragged over his shoulder. "Miko?"

"I cut you," she murmured before doing it again. "You taste good."

He chuckled and brushed his fangs on her shoulder. "So do you." Even her marks tasted good. Blue sizzled, hot like flames against his tongue. Pink tingled with the rise of reiki. Maroon throbbed with the delicious burn of poison. He wanted to taste her powers, each one, in his mouth, on his tongue, and let it coat his teeth. 

"Maru," she moaned.

"Mm." He pulled his mouth away. Her heavy-lidded eyes and drooping head were enough to send him climbing from the spring, dragging both mokomoko as he carried her out.

He sat her on a bench, dried her swiftly, let her snap the water from her tails, and wrapped a thin sleeping yukata around her before attending to himself. He pulled on a nemaki and tied it loosely before retrieving his pelt. 

It took little effort to run his youki down the fur, force out the water, and have it damp but fluffy again. When he picked up Kagome's, he checked with her first. 

She nodded, but as he forced the water from her pelt, her eyes widened, and a gasp left her lips, for it was a very sensual thing to clean another's mokomoko. Trust was essential when handling another's pelt.

She hummed and rose to join him, reached hesitantly for his fur and waited for a nod before running the lightest tingle of foxfire over the pelt to dry it thoroughly.

Sesshomaru growled more than groaned. "Vixen."

She chuckled and did the same with hers, returning the thick fluff to her shoulder. "Now, we don't smell like wet dog."

He bared his teeth at her teasing but swept her off her feet, making her laugh and snuggle closer before they exited the bath.

Servants waited to collect their garments, but Sesshomaru paid them no mind until he came to a water youkai in blue. "The lady dislikes the scents farthest from the spring. Remove them. Her clothing is unrepairable. Discard it."

"Yes, milord." She bowed deeply, but there was a smile pulling at her lips.

"Something amuses you, Fable?"

"My Lord looks very nice with the braid," she smirked.

Sesshomaru glanced down to find his silver hair remained plaited and glanced at his Miko, but she was already asleep on his shoulder.

"Hn," he hummed and walked away, intent on checking on the children before bed, denying the water youkai a response.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: smut, mild gore, canon typical violence

* * *

Kagome awoke with a jolt. Something was wrong. She didn't know what or where, just that something was about to go horribly, horribly sideways.

She didn't open her eyes but sent her senses searching, her power growing, spreading, sweeping wide. Out through the Shiro, finding the presence of Shippo and Rin across the hall before exploring further. Through the castle grounds, down to the village, she spread her aura like a mist, barely seen or felt, but present.

"Miko?" came a quiet but distinct voice from behind her, attached to the arm around her waist.

"Wait," she whispered, still looking.

"Hn." 

He wasn't happy about it, but he trusted her. The tiny thrill that gave her almost made her miss it.

Kagome's eyes snapped open. "The bodies!" 

She threw back the bedding in a flurry and raced to the exterior wall, where she tossed open the shoji that led to a private balcony. 

"What are you sensing? I feel nothing," Sesshomaru murmured. 

"The red taint from the weapons. It's growing, spreading. Maru, it's in the bodies!" She'd just pointed toward the village when the first scream erupted out of the night. 

"Remain here!" 

She grabbed him before he could leave. "No! You need me! If you can't feel them, you can't stop them!" Without waiting for permission, Kagome transformed into her fox form, shot a lick of magic out into the hall that formed a barrier around their sleeping children, and looked at him.

He'd already thrown on hakama and armour, sword gleaming, blade bare in the moonlight's sliver. "You do not leave my side," he growled.

She yipped and followed him out into the night, floating on flames that erupted around her feet, sprinting at his hip.

They flew down into the village where the scent of something foul made her sneeze. Another scream came, and another, sending them racing down roadways. Sesshomaru's growl moved everyone exiting their homes from his path. 

Kagome barked and went up, running over rooftops, soon joined by the Daiyoukai. He hummed his approval, flicked his fingers over her ears, and jumped from the roof to land before the advancing chaos.

Kagome slid to a halt, her eyes widening as the stench grew, and was revealed as grey youkai, advancing on destroyed bodies out of the thick mist. Their red eyes swung left and right, lunging for anything that moved, canines dripping a viscous liquid that made her shudder. 

They weren't alive, but animated like puppets, an army of the dead walking through the Western village. 

Sesshomaru tightened his grip on Bakusaiga, prepared to defend his home. In an instant, Kagome realized what a terrible idea that was and cried out, her howl rising, pulling him back long enough for her to leap between them. She rose, sending a wave of purification snapping from her tails, whipping down the street, disintegrating dozens of the walking dead into ash.

"Miko?" he murmured, confused but also annoyed at her perceived rescue.

Another scream in a different part of the village set her running, the Daiyoukai hot on her heels. 

At the house, Sesshomaru went through the door first, but Kagome latched glowing pink jaws into the tanuki and chucked him through the wall. 

She rose from her fox form, anger surging, realizing the tanuki had been about to harm a female and her kits. She didn't stop to think, her hands moving without forethought, lifting and making the draw, forming a bow and arrow out of purple youkai and blinding pink power. 

The arrow flew when released into the heart of the raccoon dog and turned him to ash. Then she was rushing to the female, the weapons disappearing with her relaxed powers. "Did he scratch you? Bite you?"

"No, Kami-sama," the female whimpered.

"The kits?" she asked, frantically checking them over.

"No, no! I protected them. My male..." She began to sob, and Kagome fell to her knees beside her, swiftly hugging the tanuki. 

"I'm sorry. So sorry. Was he one that died during the raid?" she asked gently.

"No." The tanuki shook her head. "He had only been slightly injured, a passing blow."

Kagome shot Sesshomaru a horrified glance.

"We must warn the others."

"Oh, Kami! Rin! Shippo!" Kagome whispered, scrambling to her feet.

Sesshomaru grabbed her arm. "You healed those stationed in the keep, Miko. You said you removed the taint. It is the village for which we must fear."

She nodded her head. "Don't touch them. Something about them reminds me too much of the weapons. Please, Sesshomaru. Be careful."

She remained anxious until he agreed with a tilt of his head. "Always. Return to your fox form. This one does not need the entire village seeing you in your nightclothes," he grumbled.

"Territorial dog," she teased, leaping away in a puff of smoke.

"This one is sorry for your trauma, Kato," he murmured to the staring tanuki female. 

"Thank you, milord," she whispered, snuggling her kits. 

"Until the village is safe, this one will send someone to watch your home. Remain inside."

"Thank you, milord. And thank the kami-sama as well."

A smirk twitched his lip. "She is the Shikon Miko Kagome, not a Kami, but this one will express your gratitude," he said before chasing after her.

***

It didn't take long to snuff out the rest of the strange, transformed warriors, but even then, Kagome insisted on looking over everyone who had contact with them. However, Sesshomaru insisted she remain in her fox form until a servant ran down from the Shiro with a yukata he swiftly helped her into.

Those few who showed signs of this strange red _ taint _ \- as she called it - were carefully healed and sent home with another to watch them through the rest of the night, but it seemed the worst had passed. Now was the time for answers, but with the exhaustion still beating at her from earlier, Sesshomaru insisted she check on the children and go to bed. He knew as much as she did of what had attacked their village, which was next to nothing. 

The generals who'd assisted them in defeating Naraku and two more stood around the war room table. A giant map of Nippon.

The first question came from Praveen, an inu of wisdom and courage. "Just who is this female you've brought to us? It seems questionable that she would appear the same time we are attacked, and only she seems to know how to stop it."

Sesshomaru bared his fangs. "Watch yourself, Praveen. You cast doubt on this one's pack."

"Dammit, Sesshomaru! Who is she?" Praveen pounded his fist into the table. "And do not give us this House of the Sun line! There is no House of the Sun!"

Sesshomaru laid Praveen out on the table, so swiftly, no one saw him move. "Can you no longer see with your eyes? She is the Shikon Miko Kagome reborn after wishing the jewel from existence! No one is sure how or why, but this one looks at her rebirth as a gift. Disparage her again, and this Sesshomaru will kill you."

Praveen submitted, his surprise evident, and Sesshomaru let him up. "She is a full demon of both inu and kitsune persuasion, the first of her ilk. Her power is great, but she has few memories of her time before. The Kami have decided she will regain them as necessary."

The generals gaped before slowly coming to accept the new information. 

"I… thought she looked familiar, but I did not realize…" murmured Manto, the red fox flicked five white-tipped tails behind him. 

"What was her wish?" asked Dankotu, a large bull who'd remained behind during the war to oversee Sesshomaru's home had not had the honour of meeting Kagome while human.

Dankotu did not do well within close proximity to humans. He was quick to anger and overly aggressive, making for a good fighter and an excellent general when it came to brute force, but he lacked tactfulness and was always left to command with Jalna's cooler head. 

The fire youkai, his brilliant red hair cascading in waves of rippling layers down his spine was - surprisingly - less volatile than the bull, but more powerful. When one was needed to clear Dankotu of battle rage, Jalna was always sent in.

"She wished the jewel to the Kami, to use as they saw fit," Sesshomaru murmured.

"A selfless wish that gains her nothing. Yet, here she is, a most powerful youkai," contemplated Shin. "Why? Why make her youkai?"

"This one does not know." But if they hadn't, Kagome would be dead now, and he would not have all he'd ever wanted within his grasp. "Perhaps there is a reason beyond the Kami's will, perhaps not. It matters nothing tonight when we must - again - seek answers to the questions, who attacked us, why, and what did they do to our soldiers."

"Reanimated dead. There's a new one," Praveen snorted.

"Possessed?" Sesshomaru asked.

Manto shook his head. "Bespelled, more likely." 

Jalna, the fire youkai, nodded. "I agree, for it was not only the dead affected but also the wounded."

"The weapons this one's lady removed from the wounded, she expressed revulsion toward them. It is likely we will find some of our answers there." Sesshomaru nodded to his men. "Tomorrow, this one will have her search deeper."

Dankotu and Jalna frowned and exchanged glances.

"Something to say?" he asked, cold and deadly.

"You… trust her?"

Sesshomaru arched a brow. "She is the Shikon Miko and destroyer of Naraku. At the end of the battle, before her change of species was made known, the Kami took her. Left behind was the majority of the blood in her body." 

The five Generals inhaled sharply. 

"She would have died…" Shin whispered.

"As far as this one knew, she had given her life to defeat the evil hanyou until she found her way back to the pack. Never doubt my alpha female again," he growled.

They bowed to him as he turned to leave. 

"I suppose congratulations are in order," Manto called, his grin showing his fangs. "On finding a worthy mate."

"Hm." Sesshomaru tilted his head and walked away. They were congratulations coming too early to his mind, for he had not yet secured her to his side.

***

He opened the door to his quarters and arched a brow, neither surprised nor as annoyed as he might have been even a few months ago to find Kagome, back in her large fox form, lying on his bed with the kit and Rin curled against her belly. 

Her eyes glowed blue, her marks a bright counterpoint to her otherwise dark fur, tails raised, prepared to defend before they lowered to once more hide the children from view. 

With the sliver of moonlight caressing her form, she appeared to glow with blue highlights that rippled over her with every breath. Her big eyes and sleek face were so stunningly beautiful, it was no wonder the villagers had looked at her in such awe, and at him with envy for having a claim on her.

Still, he would not succumb to that pretty face. He would not roll over and show his belly. He would put his foot down. 

"You will not make this a habit, Miko," he murmured, closing the door. There would be times having the pups with them would be inconvenient. He crossed the floor in the dark and sheathed his sword before removing his armour and placing it quietly on its stand. 

He shed his haori and boots, leaving only his kosode and hakama on as he moved toward their bed. "There is no more danger," he said softly as he knelt across from her and ran his hands over her face and ears.

When she shifted forms, her face remained in his hands, she wore only her nightclothes, but her eyes continued to glow with power. "I couldn't leave them, not even across the hall, but staying in there without your scent…"

He shushed her with a low rumble and ran his nose over her cheek. "It's fine, Kagome. I understand." He understood so well that he left the majority of his pelt tucked up behind Rin for warmth and protection, and drew the rest of it under Kagome's head before lightly leaping over the pile of his pack and sinking into the comfortable nest she'd made him with her thick black mokomoko.

He brushed the hair from her nape and nuzzled his nose there, wrapped his arm over her waist, stroked first Rin, then Shippo's hair, and rumbled a quiet purr of contentment. 

"Did they wake?" he asked, feeling Kagome relax into him.

"Rin stirred but only because I had to carry her in here in this form. Shippo was an easy scruff with teeth," she giggled softly, "but he was dreaming when I picked him up and gave this cute little yip and kicked his feet." She snuggled the kit closer. "It was adorable."

Sesshomaru chuckled. Though he rarely showed it, he occasionally found the kit amusing and rather cute and indulged the boy with tolerance and quiet affection. He was pack and Kagome's, after all. "Good. Go to sleep, little one. There will be much to do, and many questions requiring answers come morning." He lightly nipped the delicate bones in her nape before nuzzling again, burying his nose in her hair. "The danger has passed for the moment."

"Hm, yes, alpha," she teased, wriggling just enough to wrap her tails around his waist and thighs.

"Vixen," he grumbled, causing her to giggle right before they both succumbed to sleep.

***

Kagome woke to the soft scent of _ pack _ and sighed happily. Shippo slept peacefully against her belly, Rin a few inches away covered in white fur so thick she was almost invisible, and Sesshomaru hadn't moved from her back. 

It was the best dogpile she'd ever been in, and the thought made her smile. This was how it should be. This was home. This was life. This was happiness. 

The only thing that would make it better was if the Daiyoukai plastered to her spine would stop resisting. Although he hadn't much "resisted" in the hot spring last night. 

A delicious shiver worked down her spine.

"Vixen, you cannot smell like that when you have the pups in bed with us," Sesshomaru growled softly.

"Smell like what?" she asked, all innocence.

His hand slipped between the collars of her yukata and cupped her breast. "Ripe," he growled. "Lush. _ Aroused _."

Kagome hissed and sighed, pushing against him. "Cruel," she murmured, even as he found the bud of her nipple and tugged. A bolt of sensation ran straight to her womb and exploded there, leaving tingles in its wake. 

She pushed back and used her tails to help grind her ass on the hard length wedged between them, making Sesshomaru growl.

"Mama?"

They froze before looking down at Shippo. 

"Yes, sweetie?" she asked, ignoring the fact Sesshomaru had his hand in her yukata. 

"What, um, why? How?" Shippo wondered, looking at them then Rin, then the room. 

"You were exhausted after yesterday," she smiled, "and went to bed in Rin's room across the hall, but there was a little incident last night, and I wasn't happy leaving you two alone, so I brought you here."

"Incident?" Shippo frowned. 

"We'll tell you over breakfast," she said, glancing up to Rin's observant eyes.

"Sleeping as a pack is for special occasions," Sesshomaru stated, his hand still holding her breast, his thumb slowly dragging over her flesh. "For nights like last night when protection must be assured, or in the future when we travel together. When there is no danger, I expect you to sleep in your beds."

"Yes, alpha," Shippo smiled.

"You two go get cleaned up. You both need baths, then dress, and we'll have breakfast," Kagome smiled. "I'm sure Rin can show you where to go."

Rin beamed. "Rin can! This is Rin's home. Shippo will love the hot springs!" she giggled, climbing out from under Sesshomaru's mokomoko and taking Shippo with her.

"But what about Mama?" Shippo asked.

"I had my bath last night," Kagome said when Sesshomaru's claw flicked over her nipple. "Go have fun. I'll see you in a little bit."

The grin Rin threw her as she shut the door said the girl knew exactly where Sesshomaru's hand was.

The minute the shoji snapped shut, Kagome was assaulted by hand and mouth as Sesshomaru did unimaginably pleasurable things to her breast and neck. She moaned and reached out, dragging his pelt to her to touch and caress some part of him. "Maru."

"Release me from your tails," he coaxed, his voice a seductive purr, his nose beneath her ear. 

She complied. Slowly. One by one, she let them unfurl, slide sensually over his hips and thighs, and found herself on her back the minute he was free.

Kagome clenched her fingers in his soft fur and relished the guttural growl that ripped from him.

"Vixen," he rumbled, hovering over her, his hand now parting the edges of her yukata. "Move my pelt above your head and do not let go."

She complied, again slowly, letting the silky fur glide up her bare midline. Once raised, she watched his gaze fall from her face to her body and the space between the gaping collars. Both hung precariously balanced on her nipples, keeping her mostly covered while a smooth expanse of bare skin flowed from her throat to her navel.

"You are a temptation and a feast, Kagome," he rumbled.

Gooseflesh erupted all over her body with the sharp bolt of desire that whipped through her. A whimper, soft and pleasing, left her throat. "Alpha," she whispered, passive beneath his burning golden eyes. 

He lowered his head and brushed his nose back and forth in the valley between her breasts, slowly skimming the tip over the inner curve, following the soft mound's shape before dipping back into the valley. He inhaled deeply, rumbled a purr, and continued to repeat his actions with her neglected flesh. "So sweet. So… _ succulent _," he growled, returning to the dip and the expanse of bone where he swept his tongue as if he could lick straight to her heart. 

Kagome cried out, the exclamation exploding from her lips with how wonderful it felt. It was as if his tongue were liquid fire, burning, scorching, searing her with heat that made her limbs heavy and loose, her body languid and soft, and her mind hazed with pleasure. The inu in her was in heaven to have all the attention on her, basking in the alpha's affection, but her kitsune side was far more mischievous and not yet willing to let Sesshomaru win at their little games and battle of wills. 

She let her allure whisper through the room. Her scent grew irresistible, her skin glowed and shimmered where the sunlight creeping across the floor fell upon them. 

"Vixen," he growled. "I know what you are about. Do you attempt to ensnare this Sesshomaru?"

She peeked up at him from behind her lashes, a fang flashing with her crooked grin. "Never, only entice."

"I am enticed already," he murmured, his nose drifting over her chest and up to her neck where he inhaled again, dragging in air laced with her scent like it gave him life. 

She gave him her neck, stretched it out just for him and shuddered when his fangs nicked and nipped, creating little points of pain that blossomed into hot pleasure when he licked the sting away. She almost lost the plot when he dragged sharp points down to her shoulder and nibbled on her collarbone, but quickly remembered her gameplan.

It took only a second of fox magic, strong legs, and tricky tails to flip their position and find herself straddling his body. Surprised and mildly annoyed eyes gleamed at her from the shadows at the head of the bed before those same golden orbs dropped suddenly to where her yukata gaped open, now hiding nothing from him.

She smirked but swiftly softened it into an enticing smile when he glanced at her face. "Isn't this nice?" she sighed, stroking her hands down his chest to pluck the tie on his kosode and set it free. "Just relax, my Lord. This Kagome would give instead of receive," she purred and bent to press her mouth to the thick ropes of muscles that defined his chest. 

She loved how they bunched and moved beneath her questing tongue, how he growled and groaned, and sank his hand into her hair. She loved that he let her discover and explore at her pace, never rushing, never pushing for more. He was content but in no way submissive. If he liked something, he made sure she knew it, directing her with pleased tones. If he didn't or felt neutral, he said very little.

By the time she got her mouth to the dark lines that wrapped his hips, the scent of arousal was thick and heady. Kagome nuzzled his hip and nipped the ties of his hakama, eyes alight with mischief. Beneath her chin lay the evidence of his arousal, and though she'd touched him last night, she'd felt too shy to look. 

Today was not last night.

"I'm hungry, Maru," she growled, licking the front of his pants. 

Red bled into his eyes when she freed him from confinement. "Miko," rumbled from his lips. "You have sharp teeth."

Kagome smiled, showing them, then used her tongue to sweep fox magic around her teeth and blunt her little fangs. 

He hummed approval, excitement leaking to mix with arousal. 

She smirked and looked down, sat back, and shook the yukata from her before lightly touching the heaving abdominals. 

He was exquisite. Porcelain skin, marks gone dark like burgundy wine with his desire. Golden eyes swirled with red as he fought the beast inside that wanted to mate, fuck, destroy her with absolute pleasure, his primordial nature at its finest.

It dampened her thighs with how turned on she was. 

Kagome continued discovering him, memorizing every dip and firm muscle. Her hands walked the marks on his hips, following them down to the thick thatch of silky white hair that surrounded his pleasing form. She knew instinctively she'd never done this, never saw a male's body like this before, but she also knew he had an exquisite form. 

Her hands curled around his thick shaft, weighed it between her palms, and gave it a gentle squeeze. He purred his approval, claws flexing beside him. She lightly traced the maroon marks that edged his shaft, ending beneath the wide crown. There was a slight curve and a small bend to the side she found intriguing, but the Killing Perfection lived up to his name.

"Vixen," he growled.

Kagome shuddered, having been lost to study and gently caressing him with both hands. "Sorry," she whispered before leaning down to run her tongue from root to tip and close her lips over him in a salacious kiss.

Sesshomaru growled and threw his head back, making Kagome smile. She'd done that. She'd brought such sounds to his lips. She wiggled with a job well done, her tails flicking, only to have her thigh snatched and yanked on, spinning her swiftly around and plopping her down on top of him.

She released him with a yelp, only to shake and moan when she realized his face was buried between her legs, and his tongue was offering intense pleasure. Going momentarily blind with it, her cheek fell to his hip as she rocked into his mouth, then the delicious scent of him, musk and pine and snow, made her mouth water, and she slicked her tongue up the length of one sensitive burgundy stripe. 

***

Sesshomaru's eyes rolled back. The pleasure of her mouth, her tongue, the heat, the wet all combined to make him mad for her. It didn't help that he could smell the rich scent of honey seeping from her core. If he didn't get a taste, he would do something foolish - like beg. 

A Daiyoukai never begged, no matter how exquisite the pleasure screaming up his spine or how beautiful the female rising over him. 

She was stunning in the streaks of sunshine, casting their light across the floor and in turn over her body. There was a shimmer to her as if she glowed with an inner fire, and in truth, she did. He could see it in her sapphire eyes, the banked burn, the embers and coals of foxfire and holy power that flickered and flashed, threatening to consume him if he got to close. But like a moth driven toward the light of a candle's flame, he couldn't resist her. He couldn't resist reaching out to touch all that shining flesh. Couldn't resist dragging her around until the honey weeping from her was within reach. 

Instantly nose blind, her scent blocking out all others, he inhaled, taking the very essence of her into himself and holding it there before yanking her sweet cunny down and sinking between wet, dripping petals. The first drops hit his tongue and set a low rumble rippling through his chest. 

Heaven. He'd tasted the nectar of the Kami. Never again would he be satisfied with saki. Water was pedestrian. They could gift him the finest of Yakurõdokusen's brews, and he would deny it for nothing would ever compare to the sweet burn of Kagome's honey. Laced with her reiki, tingling with poison, and warmed with her inner fire, he could happily sustain himself on her alone. 

Then, her delicious moan struck his ears, her talented but innocent tongue licked the length of him, and Sesshomaru fought not to sink his claws into her.

They fought a battle of wills pressed as tightly together as they could get. Her sucking heat against his dextrous tongue, each trying to make the other break, come apart, moan out their pleasure, but neither would relent until Sesshomaru found her marks with his thumbs and began to slowly stroke his claws over them. 

Kagome gave a startled cry, her mouth - sucking, slick, friction inducing, pleasure producing mouth - sent the vibration streaking through him and saw Sesshomaru thrusting up, fucking into all that heat and wet as her soft petals clamped down on his tongue and bathed his face in fresh liquid.

Another low moan made him growl as he thrust deep and lost his seed to her flicking tongue and sucking mouth. With his face still buried in her core, his growl of ecstasy sent new waves through her, and Kagome shivered.

His entire body pulsed with the release throbbing through him, and when she slowly began to clean his shaft, she did so with small, gentle licks. 

He panted for a moment, so replete yet still burning for her. His need was great, and he knew it would not end until he'd sealed their souls together, binding her as his mate. Even now, he could feel the tugging, tiny threads reaching out, seeking her, desperate for the connection that would mate them forever.

He rumbled a low growl and began to lap his tongue over the delicate folds pulsing with the last moments of her pleasure until he captured every last drop of her essence.

"Maru," she moaned when he didn't relent, working her up again.

He slowed the sweeping of his tongue, careful of the pulsing bud at the apex, but didn't stop.

"Maru! Enough!" she groaned.

Sesshomaru rumbled his displeasure. Once was not enough. 

In the blink of an eye, he flipped them and pressed his little Miko into the bedding, pinning her there with her thighs spread wide, his hands immovable before lowering his head. "I want to watch you fall," he purred.

Kagome gasped, then moaned, and finally buried a hand in his hair when he dropped his head to suckle her clit. He wanted to hear her beg and slipped a single digit inside her. 

"Come, little one. Let me hear your voice," he coaxed.

Her cry was loud but swiftly muffled by her hand. 

Sesshomaru snarled, rose over her, and yanked her hand away. "Never again will you stifle your sounds. You steal them from me, Kagome. They are _ mine _! I earned them. I want to hear them all!" he snapped, working her hard nub with fast, relentless fingers.

She gasped, arched, and screamed, but he didn't let her come, yanking his hand away before she could tumble over as he panted against her, chest heaving with every intoxicating breath of her scent.

"Maru," she whimpered, tilting her chin in apology.

He saw red, the beast inside breaking the chains that kept him civilized. His fangs grew long and pressed hard against her throat, dragged down and clamped over her shoulder, almost breaking her skin. He fought a vicious internal battle with the beast, every muscle tense, his cock laying heavy and full on her belly, struggling not to do what every fibre of his being demanded.

Then, soft hands, a soothing aura, and quiet humming purr cut through the blaze of mating fever. Her small hands caressed his back, moving up and down in gentle strokes before running through his hair. 

"It's okay, Maru. I'm here. I'm not going anywhere. Just breathe and relax."

He inhaled hard through his nose and marvelled how her scent changed. Gone was the thick syrup of arousal, replaced by calm waves of sakura. The touch of her reiki was a warm blanket over his body and through his bones.

The stiffness went out of his limbs, and he collapsed slowly down on top of her lithe frame, pinning her firmly to their bed, but he was unable to move as he released her shoulder from his teeth and nuzzled her, lightly licking, a low whine his apology when she winced from the hard bite.

"It's fine," she murmured, still petting his hair. "We got a little carried away, is all. You have very big teeth," she smiled.

"All the better to eat you with, my little Miko," he breathed against her ear.

She shuddered, and her scent spiked hot and heavy, and the beast again rattled its chains.

"Miko," he growled. 

"If you didn't lace sexual innuendos into everything your hot ass said, I wouldn't be seconds away from climbing you like a tree," she muttered.

Sesshomaru couldn't help it. He started to laugh and not the low chuckle he usually used, but a deep, full laugh from his gut, hearing her speak in the dialect of her future born tongue. It was good to see her returning to herself, but her meaning was also a nice stroke to his ego.

He wrapped his arms around her and sat them both up, unable to hide the wide smile and happiness she brought to him. 

Her awe-filled eyes and hesitant touch of his cheek stalled his laughter. 

"What?" he asked.

"I've never heard you laugh like that before."

"Are you sure?" he teased, knowing it to be true. "Perhaps you simply do not remember."

Her fingers trailed over his lower lip. "No. I would remember that sound, I'm sure. You should do it more often."

The look in her eyes, admiration, desire, affection, set him purring a low rumble as she pushed from her arms to rise to her feet. "Why?"

"Hm," she hummed and smiled all feminine seduction. "Because brooding demon lord is hot, but laughing Sesshomaru is gorgeous."

His mouth gaped in shock as she turned away and sniffed at the air.

"Where are my clothes?" she asked, looking at the cabinets along the wall. 

She didn't have the time to discover the answer for herself when he stepped forward, swept her up and pinned her to the wall. "Did you think we were done, Ka-go-me?" he crooned, his eyes locked with hers as he lowered his head and licked her marks one by one from chest to shoulder.

"I-I-I… oh," spilled from her lips.

Sesshomaru bent to her and whispered against her ear, "You owe me a scream, little one," before drawing back, locking their gazes, and lowering to his knees.

She inhaled sharply, smiled a kitsune grin, and lifted her leg to his shoulder. "As it please, milord."

  
  
  



	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: canon typical violence, fluff, angst, smexy stuff
> 
> A/N: Sorry for the delay. I had surgery in October, and I'm just up and running again.

* * *

The slight blush on Kagome's cheeks had yet to disappear. It wasn't until after she'd shrieked herself hoarse that Sesshomaru allowed her to rest and returned her to her nightclothes. He'd tugged his hakama on and called out for the servants at the door to enter before swiftly disappearing. 

Servants Kagome hadn't realized were there. Servants who smiled shyly at Sesshomaru before bowing deeply to her, a glint of admiration in the two female's eyes. 

It was a point of pride when a female could drive their mate to such distraction that their only thought was how loud and long they could keep their female screaming. As they weren't mates but something Kagome couldn't quite figure out yet, she wasn't sure how to take the implied congratulations as the two youkai - a swan and a pheasant - helped her find her clothing for the day in Sesshomaru's elaborate bed-chamber. 

She hadn't noticed the ornate screens, paintings, furniture, or bedding the night before, what with being already asleep when he delivered her there, and again with the rush to secure their pups safety. Now she could see what Jaken meant about the West’s wealth and how she hadn't even dented it. 

Dressed in the pretty green yukata from Ai's, Kagome followed Tani, the swan, through the Shiro, heading to a small house off the garden where Rin liked to have breakfast. As Kagome wasn't opposed to the location, she nodded her agreement when Tani appeared momentarily concerned. 

Being Sesshomaru's alpha female gave her a certain status here. That the staff viewed her as his intended mate gave her even more, and after healing a good portion of his men and then saving more in the village, Kagome got the impression if she asked these people to serve breakfast while standing on their heads, they would do so.

As they walked, she surreptitiously studied Tani. The female moved as if she floated, more graceful than any youkai Kagome had ever seen, or at least that she could remember. She was a few inches taller than Kagome, but thinner of hip and bust, svelte like the creature of her heritage. Her hair fell in white waves mixed with plumage, and while the skin around her eyes and down her sharp nose was black, her eyebrows were white, downy feathers over red-rimmed yellow eyes.

Though different looking, Kagome couldn't help but admire how beautiful she was. However, the power she contained was minimal, which explained her position in Sesshomaru's household. Someone so lovely but so weak would be incredibly vulnerable on their own. Here she lived the life of a servant but under the security of a formidable master.

As they made their way through the Shiro, Kagome nodded here and there when others bowed to her. Some she knew from their healing the day before, others were servants who'd yet to be introduced, easily distinguished by their clothing. 

It appeared Sesshomaru preferred his household staff in a semblance of a uniform. Though the colours differed - her new maids wore dark blue - each sported a small three-segment white honeycomb on their collar or sleeve. Some were empty of embellishment, while Tani and Doma - the pheasant - had a sakura blossom embroidered in two sections, apparently indicating they were upper-level maids reserved for visiting youkai of importance. Or, in Kagome's case, they would attend the West's new lady.

Of course, all this information was gleaned in the first few minutes when Kagome had offered a kind smile and hand of friendship, gaining their loyalty quickly with her honesty and gentle nature. 

But all those thoughts fled when a sudden cloying scent assaulted her nose. 

Kagome stopped and turned toward the closed doors before looking pointedly at Tani.

"My lady," she bowed. "That would be Lord Sesshomaru's harem."

"Harem?" Kagome murmured, eyes narrowing dangerously. 

"Yes, milady. Where he keeps his concubines."

Red seeped into Kagome's vision before she ripped the shoji screen right off the wall, causing someone within to scream. Inside another immaculately appointed room, almost a dozen females of various races lounged on low couches or pillows. 

Kagome glided inside, eyes hard, anger burning in her heart over this perceived competition. She looked around the room and took a deep breath as all eyes stared at her in shock. 

Only one smelled of Sesshomaru, and his scent on her was old, ancient, as if he'd had her once and discarded her. It was clear the female now used her youki to keep the scent from fading. 

It appeased only some of Kagome's anger. 

"I am Kagome, alpha female to our Lord Sesshomaru. Prepare yourselves," she snarled, "for you will be leaving. Soon." She would not have others sniffing around what was hers.

An inu-youkai bitch with hair the colour of amber and eyes like the sea, the one who smelled of Sesshomaru, rose in confrontation. "You can't tell us what to do. You are not his mate!"

"Yet," Kagome stated coldly. "I won't have you here."

_ Once a youkai Lord is of age, others will often gift him females in hope of attaining favour or that he will choose one as a mate, creating a tie between the two houses. As his alpha female and intended mate, you are within your rights to remove such obstacles by any means necessary, _drifted Toga's voice through her memory. 

The female sniffed and sneered her disdain. "He hasn't even bedded you," she scoffed. "I won't be run off by some mixed breed inu-kitsune."

Kagome growled and crossed the room before anyone could see her move. She pinned the other youkai to the wall by her throat so forcefully she left an impressive dent. "Your nose fails you. I am his as he is mine, mated or not. Submit, or when you leave here, you will be half as pretty."

"No," she snarled.

Kagome's youki exploded within the room, layered with her displeasure and rage. All bowed and bared their throats except for the insolent one beneath her fist. "Submit."

"I won't."

She raised her free hand, fingers glowing purple with the rise of poison. "Submit!"

"Miko," came a deep voice. 

Kagome glanced at Sesshomaru. 

"Release her."

She bared her fangs but dropped the female before stalking toward the Daiyoukai, tails snapping, her mokomoko twice its usual size with her ire. "Fine, keep her," she sneered. "But you will not lay another hand on me while _ she _ resides under this roof."

Sesshomaru grabbed her arm. "Miko."

She shot him a glare. "Do not test me, _ alpha. _"

He didn't let go but addressed the room. "As soon as arrangements are finalized, you will be leaving."

Unappeased, she jerked on her arm, causing him to glare at her with rising irritation. "Miko."

"Exactly!" Kagome hissed. "I am the Shikon Miko Kagome, firstborn to the House of the Sun. You would do well to remember that, _ my Lord _." A crackling snap of reiki had him swiftly removing his hand. "Come, Tani. This Kagome desires breakfast away from here."

Tani bowed low and hurried off, Kagome following with more reserved grace, though her tails betrayed her anger. 

Instinct demanded she removed any that would interfere with her claim to the Daiyoukai, but another part of her cringed at the overreaction. 

She was not this spiteful person who snapped out ultimatums, but her beast demanded the respect owed her. Sesshomaru claimed they were courting, but she bore no mark other than scent to prove his claim valid. She was his alpha female, co-leader of his pack, deserving of his loyalty. 

Anxiety soured her belly, old deep fear. Something nagged at the back of her mind, a disdain for being second choice though she couldn't remember why.

If she hadn't come across his harem, would he have dismissed them? Or would he have hidden this from her?

And though the words "Shikon Miko" sounded correct, just what was the Shikon, and why was it part of her title?

***

Sesshomaru seethed. Not at Kagome, she was well within her rights, but at Leena, the inu bitch Kagome almost maimed. 

He came into his Lordship young, acquiring Leena from a trusted retainer as little more than a wet behind the ears pup barely through his first rut. He wasn’t yet aware of the wiles of females, no more than a youth, and after a particularly difficult day, she’d offered a momentary reprieve from ruling with her willing body. She’d been a pleasant enough distraction, but by the next day, she’d been flouting her status as Sesshomaru’s alpha female, lording it over the staff. 

A lapse in judgement had led to years of annoyance.

Unable to turn her out, and under the disapproving glare of his mother, Sesshomaru had to keep the nuisance, though he never touched her again and made damn sure the staff knew she was _ not _ what she claimed. 

When she overstepped her place, attempting to move herself to better rooms, he informed her that she was little better than a whore who’d once wet his wick and would remain in the harem where she belonged, or he would return her to his retainer in disgrace.

Cowed for a time, she’d continued to do everything to entice him back into her bed to no avail. Once others began to fill the rooms within his harem, gifts, concubines, and female bed slaves, Leena took it upon herself to rule the harem as if she were Lady to his Lord. 

With this hard lesson learned, Sesshomaru never again enjoyed the pleasures of the flesh gifted to his house. Yes, he'd had partners, but all knew in advance _ exactly _ what they were there for and would get nothing from him but the pleasure of their joining. The females in his home remained nothing more than pretty ornaments adorning an unused section of his Shiro.

Finally, he could get rid of them without offending someone he should not.

Leena sauntered toward him. Her movements meant to entice did nothing but elevate his irritation. “You wish to take a mate, my Lord? I am here, ready and willing.”

“And delusional,” Sesshomaru stated, his voice cold. “Do as this one commands. Pack. Perhaps you will please your new Lord as you failed to please this Sesshomaru.”

A titter of amusement ran through the other females. All knew Leena was out of her mind if she thought he would take her as his mate.

“But… you protected me!” Leena gasped, reaching for him. 

Sesshomaru swiped her hands away. “You do not have the right!” he roared, causing all to recoil and fall to their knees. He would not have Leena’s scent anywhere on him when he returned to Kagome. Already he knew he was “in the doghouse,” as she’d once said about InuYasha. While the analogy had amused him then, when applied to himself it was no longer funny. 

Anger coated Kagome's sweet sakura scent, adding an aroma of burnt florals to her natural fragrance. But it was the bitter hurt and confusion - something he’d only ever smelt in relation to InuYasha - that concerened him. 

He glared at Leena on her knees before him. “This one did not save you for _ you _ . Our interference had nothing to do with _ you _.” No, he’d stopped Kagome because attacking Leena over words and instinct would upset her later once she calmed. 

Sesshomaru would have relished seeing her claw the female’s face off, but that was not Kagome’s nature, no matter how she’d changed. 

“Jaken,” he growled. 

“Milord?” the kappa murmured, appearing in the doorway. 

“See it done.”

He bowed deeply. “Yes, milord.” 

Turning on his heel, Sesshomaru left, knowing Jaken would see the plans he'd laid out in the event of his mating executed. All would be used to the West’s advantage, except for Leena, who would be returned to her home where she could make trouble for someone else.

He went in search of Kagome to settle the argument between them. As he followed her scent, it slowly morphed into confusion and then into discontent, another scent he’d only ever smelt when she was upset with InuYasha. It made him wonder if she’d remembered something new. After all, she’d called herself the Shikon Miko. Perhaps she remembered the hurt InuYasha caused. 

Whatever it was that caused her to smell like sadness and despair, he would fix it. Now. 

Shortly after he slipped out into the garden, he realized she was no longer heading to the teahouse in which Rin liked to eat breakfast but to a secluded glade at the rear of the compound where stone cliffs rose to protect the Shiro’s flank. Tani must have taken her somewhere she could compose herself, not wanting to show her disquiet to the pups. 

For that, he was grateful as an upset Rin was never pleasant, and the fox kit had sharper teeth. Not that he thought Shippo would bite him for upsetting his mother, but one never knew for certain what the kit would do. Shippo had never been averse to biting InuYasha, after all.

He arrived at the glade surrounded by plum trees harvested of fruit, the leaves still thick on their branches, offering shade to those desiring it. A few weeks more, and they would begin to fall, becoming skeletal renditions of themselves when the snows began. 

Tani, he found, knelt near the glade’s entrance, watching over her new mistress as a good servant should. She startled when he appeared and made to speak, but Sesshomaru raised his hand, then dismissed her with a flick of his wrist. Silent and graceful, she stood and hurried off. Only then did Sesshomaru look for Kagome. 

He found her walking along a shallow stream that irrigated the garden; her hands tucked into the sleeves of a lovely green yukata with a meadow’s long grass depicted around the hem. They’d swept her hair up off her neck with gold and jade combs, leaving Sesshomaru longing to bury his nose beneath her ear. 

He crossed to her silently, able to feel the writhing of her youki, still ripe with confusion and distress. “Kagome.” She froze, anxiety a sour addition to her scent. “This one can tell you are upset.”

She didn’t turn to face him but lowered her head. “I… am.”

He took the final steps to arrive at her back and gently gripped her shoulders. “Tell me. I cannot assuage your anxiety if you do not speak.”

“I would have hurt her, and that disturbs me,” she whispered. 

“I know. It’s why I stopped you.”

She sighed, muscles tight as a drum. “Do you want her? Do you want to keep them?”

“I do not.” He pulled her back against him, wrapping her in his arms and pelt to reassure her. 

“I…” Her breath hitched hard. “I can’t be second. I won’t be. I refuse to be!” 

His heart lurched and ached. “What did you remember?” he asked quietly. 

Kagome shook her head. “Nothing. Just a feeling of always being second choice. It hurts." She pressed her palm to her heart. "I won’t do it again.”

He turned her swiftly to face him, fierce in his intent when he took her face between his hands and made her look at him. “Do you see me, Miko?” he demanded, staring into her eyes. She nodded, her hands lifting to cling to his wrists. “I have _ never _ lied to you. Not ever. I never will. I have not once looked at a female in nine hundred years of life, but I see you, Kagome. I see you. Only you. You have never been a second choice. Not to me.”

Tears broke and streamed down her cheeks; a sob soon followed. He had a moment of light panic, thinking he’d said the wrong thing before she spoke. 

“I… I don’t know why I feel this way, but your words…” She gave a little gasp and whispered, “I believe you.”

He purred a quiet rumble and began collecting her tears with his tongue, licking them away until the last one was gone. Then, his moon met her sun as, gently, their foreheads connected. 

Sesshomaru breathed with her. For one moment, they were the only ones in the world, closed inside a green glade where none could find them. He stroked his fingertips along the line of her jaw before the right fell to lightly scratch his claws against the flesh at the junction of her neck and shoulder. “I thought to give you time before placing a courting mark, but… I can no longer deny…”

“Yes,” she sighed. “Please,” she begged, her fingers flexing on his wrists, her neck bared.

“I can still break it,” he murmured, already dipping down to scrape his fangs on her skin. “If… when your memories return.”

“I won’t change my mind,” she growled at him. 

“If,” he reiterated and closed his teeth on her shoulder. 

The courting mark wasn’t a bite, he reminded himself when his beast rattled the cage he kept it in, but an imprint of youki. He swirled his tongue over her flesh, sweeping power and a touch of poison over her skin as he embedded his mark deep. It would need to be renewed often to remain strong, but she needed it; he could tell by the yearning in her aura. There would be no disputing to whom she belonged. 

Leena's words and accusations - he'd heard them all - had rooted deep and scraped at raw emotions locked behind lost memories. He would have her know with certainty she was the only one he wanted. Kagome. Only Kagome.

The courting mark took with a sharp snap of youki against his fangs, a jolt of acceptance that saw his cock rise swift and unwavering. She raised a consistent need inside him, a rich desire that roamed through his veins like warm honey.

"Kiss me," she sighed, clutching him to her.

So close, he could feel her breath on his chin, but Sesshomaru was a demon of his word, and when she attempted to close the distance, he placed his fingers gently against her lips. "There is nothing I would like more," he admitted when fresh hurt muddled her scent, "but I wish to leave that singular pleasure until the day we mate."

"Why?" she pouted, clearly put out by his decision. 

"Kissing is an intimate act, as much or more so than mating. It projects emotion more strongly than any other action. A rut is just a rut and can be accomplished without feeling, but a kiss is extremely intimate for Inu-youkai. The trust of sharp fangs against soft flesh, the ability to taste one's lover at the source, to join with them in such a way is all exceptionally special."

Her sapphire eyes soften into deep ocean pools. "Oh, that's… beautiful."

"This one," he whispered, tenderly tracing her lips with his thumb, "has kissed no rut partner in all his years. You, Ka-go-me, shall be his first."

Her small fingers landed lightly against his lips. "Really?"

He nipped the pad slipping between his lips. "You doubt me?"

She shook her head. "Just surprised. After all, you have more experience than me." A blush darkened her cheeks, and irritation coloured her eyes. "Or, at least it feels that way."

"You are untouched, Miko. I know it for a fact. Or, more correctly, you have only been touched by me." he growled enticingly. "And though this one has enjoyed the pleasure of female flesh, one could say it was his way of preparing himself."

"Preparing yourself for what?" she asked.

He cupped her chin. "To please you. I will show you the highest heights, little Miko, give you pleasure unimaginable. You will scream for me in the night, and all shall know the alpha and his mate are the strongest pair this land has ever seen."

She whimpered, spice coated sakura drowning him in her desires.

Sesshomaru's mouth watered. "Woman, if you insist on smelling like dessert, this one will treat you like it!"

Kagome burst out in surprised giggles, but it softened the heavy, rich honey scent of her arousal. "And that's supposed to make me stop? My good Lord, after this morning, one would think you knew me better." She ran her hands over his chest and lightly tugged his collars. "Was I not the one screaming for more?"

"Vixen," he growled and snapped his teeth.

She laughed and pulled away, her tails twitching against him, two over his chest while the tip of the third caressed his chin.

Sesshomaru caught her by the wrist and yanked her back, causing more giggles, before slipping his fingers under the edge of her yukata and lifting it slightly back from her neck. "Hm." He was unable to hide his smug pleasure. "Lovely."

The courting mark glowed in youki green and purple, his intentions and her acceptance. Though the shape of a crescent moon, it was only an outline. If they were to mate, it would fill in, and the mark would turn the royal blue of his house. 

She tried to see it for herself but huffed in resignation. "Guess I'll wait and look later."

"Hm." Sesshomaru placed a soft kiss on the combined powers and hummed in pleasure. 

"Maru?" she sighed, giving him her neck with a gentle stretch. 

Sesshomaru worked his fangs up her flesh. "Hm?"

"What…" She moaned and swayed into him. "What's a Shikon?"

He froze. "You don't remember?"

"Just the word," she admitted.

"The Shikon was a jewel made of both demonic and holy power. You were its protector."

"Was?" Kagome frowned. 

Her cheek was exquisitely soft beneath his hand when he cupped it. "You found a way to rid the world of its cursed power forever."

"I did?" 

Sesshomaru nodded, finding it interesting that none of what he said triggered any new memories. "You did. You defeated a great evil. Many of the youkai you healed yesterday assisted in the fight against him."

"Is that why people looked at me like I was familiar?"

He tilted his head. "Possibly."

"Huh. Well, okay then." She turned out of his arms and headed for the entrance of the glade.

"That is… all your questions?" he asked carefully.

"Mm-hmm," she smiled over her shoulder. "I don't have any new memories, so I don't know what else to ask." 

"Hm." It was all he could think to say as he quickly caught up, captured her right hand, and placed it lightly in the crook of his elbow. "This one wishes you to know we had every intention of removing the females from our house. With the courting mark in place, we will see the court removes those daughters pushed forward as potential candidates as well."

"You mean there are _ more _ of them?" she squeaked.

He would not laugh in her face; it would only get him in trouble, but kami if it wasn't hard to keep his mask in place. "Every lord or lady or minor titleholder has pushed some female at me over my long years, but you, Kagome, are the only one I would see grace my side for as long as our lives last."

A pretty blush coloured her cheeks. "You are being exceptionally forthright and attentive, Maru."

"As a potential mate should be."

She hummed but said no more as he led her down the garden path to the house where Rin, Shippo, and Mina - a tanuki maid who cared for Rin - waited for them. 

"Mama!" Shippo cried, bouncing on freshly washed, furry feet. "You look so pretty!"

"Thank you, Shippo," she smiled, ruffling his hair as Sesshomaru seated her on a pillow to his right. 

"Kagome is beautiful, don't you think so, my Lord?" Rin said, her smile devious.

"No," Sesshomaru stated, earning a gasp from the girl and a growl from the kit, while Kagome only shot him an amused glance. He settled on his knees at her side, their mokomoko twining together. "She is exquisite. Beautiful is far too common a word for the Miko."

Kagome inhaled sharply, red bursting like a berry across her face before she bowed to him. "A grand compliment indeed, my Lord."

"This one but speaks the truth." He waved his hand and sent the servants scurrying to deliver the children's breakfast.

Kagome leaned closer, her shoulder touching his. "Remind me to thank you for it properly at a later time."

"And when would that be?" he purred for her ears alone.

She looked up at him with sapphire eyes darkened to deep oceans. "When we are without an audience."

He growled his excitement at that idea and accepted the tea delivered to his elbow. "Vixen," he murmured into the rim.

She giggled and sipped her tea.

***

After breakfast, Kagome visited the makeshift infirmary to check on her patients from yesterday. Sesshomaru wanted her thoughts on the weapons pulled from his men, but the living took precedence over the dead in her mind. She would help discover what she could afterward.

Though, what assistance she could be with only some of her memories, she didn't know.

Shippo sat cradled in her arms, his belly round like a ball. He moaned softly, causing her to hide a smirk. 

"I warned you not to overeat."

"It was all so _ good _," he groaned. "I love it here."

"Because of the cook?" she pouted, teasing his feet with her claws.

He perked up and jerked them away with a giggle. "Not that your cooking isn't delicious; we just haven't eaten like that in a long time."

"Mm." She frowned at that. "I remember the word Shikon, but nothing of what it is. Sesshomaru said it was a jewel I destroyed and with it a great evil."

"That's right," Shippo smiled. "We killed Naraku. He was spider hanyou."

Kagome froze, waiting for the surge of memories to erupt, but she continued walking with a shrug when nothing happened. "Nothing."

"Bone Eaters Well?"

She shook her head. "Nope."

"Kaede?"

She had a flash of an old female with an eye patch, but that was it. "Just a face."

"Huh, well… that sucks." She agreed with him. "But, you remember the important people! It would be worse if you forgot our pack!"

Kagome chuckled and nuzzled her nose into his hair. "That I could never do."

"And now you'll be Sesshomaru's mate!" Shippo squealed. 

Shippo had noticed the combine youki right away but waited to ask until after breakfast when it was polite. The children, and Rin's tanuki maid, oohed and ahhed over the mark. Sesshomaru leaked pride like a bucket with a hole in it, while Kagome's frustration mounted. She wanted to _ be _ his mate, not sitting in limbo.

"You? You are to mate the Lord?"

She paused to take in the speaker, unconsciously straightening her spine and lifting her chin as a neutral mask descended over her face. 

"One would assume, as I wear his mark, that such would be self-explanatory," she stated coldly, allowing her mokomoko to slip off her shoulder and catch at her elbow, revealing the swirl of colour.

The female, a brunette Inu with more face paint than a prostitute, balled up her fists and stomped her foot like a petulant child. "That's not fair! I've been waiting decades!"

Kagome arched an amused brow. _ What a spoiled brat. _"Well, your wait is over. Now, you can have Daddy find you someone new."

Shock rippled across her face, followed swiftly by anger. "But I want him!" The Inu advanced on her, dark eyes burning red. "I will shred that mark from your neck!"

Unwilling to take any chances with Shippo's safety, Kagome wrapped him in foxfire and held up a hand full of reiki. "Threaten me at your peril."

The female stumbled back, her eyes growing. "That's… you can't!"

Kagome lifted her chin. "And yet I do. I would have the name of the one who so foolishly challenged me."

She took another step back and bowed. "I am called Sai, kami-sama. Please forgive my rash outburst. I withdraw my claim to the Western Lord."

"Hm." Kagome tilted her head as she'd seen Sesshomaru do and walked away, allowing her powers to return to her body, not bothering to correct Sai's assumption. 

Once they were out of earshot, she muttered, "Idiot. You'd think they would know better and get a bead on my strength before throwing out a challenge."

"Mama, they can't read you."

She blinked at Shippo. "What?"

He shook his head. "Until you use your powers, you feel… blank."

Stunned, she could only stare at him. "Have… have I always been this way?"

"Nah. Just since you came back, maybe Sesshomaru can sense you, he's powerful enough, but otherwise, your aura is really tight."

He squinched up his face and smooshed down into a Shippo shaped ball, making her laugh. "You're so cute!"

"Kitsune aren’t supposed to be cute, Mama!" he wailed. "We're tough and scary!"

"Oh, yes. Quite ferocious," Kagome smirked. Memories of pink balloons, toy horses, and spinning tops danced through her head. 

_ Adorable _. He wasn't anything else, though she knew he could be fearsome when he wished. Still, he was only a young kit with many years of growth ahead of him.

Placated, Shippo settled down as she walked into the infirmary. 

"Lady Kagome!" The wolf from yesterday smiled, hurrying closer to bow low. 

She smiled and nodded. "Fen, how are our patients doing?"

"Excellent, milady. All are recovering nicely." He led the way to Saab, now propped against the wall. 

"Master Saab," Kagome greeted.

The bull's eyes lit up as he offered a seated bow. "My lady, I am in your debt. My life is yours."

She patted his arm as Shippo jumped up to her shoulder. "Now, I'll hear none of that. I did what any good healer would do. You keep your life and live it with honour, and I will consider your debt paid in full."

He frowned but eventually acquiesced. "How can I deny such a prettily worded request? As you wish, my lady."

With a firm nod, Kagome got down to business, laying a reiki infused hand over Saab's bandages. "Hm, everything has healed nicely on the exterior. You have some internal healing left to do." She turned to Fen. "See he gets a hearty meal and rests until the evening one. Then," she smiled at Saab, "you can go home."

He sighed. "If I have a home left."

The reminder of how this had come about sobered her, and she patted his arm. "I am sure that even now, our Lord is planning how best to serve his people. We will help you rebuild, Saab. You and the others. Then, we will find whoever did this and show them why you don't mess with the West."

"Yeah!" he bellowed, only to be shushed. "I mean, yes, my lady. We will send them to hell where they belong!"

Kagome chuckled and carried on, speaking with each of the roughly dozen severely wounded, helping to raise their spirits. Finally, her last patient was the flirty kitsune from yesterday.

"And how are we this morning?" she asked, looking to Fen for the answer. 

It surprised her how comfortable the wolf was with her, while the two Inu were polite but reserved. Fen spoke with animated hands and enthusiasm, his willingness to learn apparent as he spoke about their patient.

"Better now that I've seen your beauty, milady," the kitsune smiled.

"Char is recovering, though I've noticed a tick and rasp in his left lung," Fen scowled. 

Kagome arched a brow, disliking the sound of that. She knelt beside Char and placed her hand against his side. What she found made her scowl. "You have not stayed in bed as instructed. There is a piece of rib loose that is causing the breathing difficulty."

"It's so _ boring _," Char sighed. "But if I had some lovely company…" He wiggled his eyebrows in what she assumed he thought was an enticing manner.

"Mama?" Shippo drew her attention.

"Yes, kit?"

Shippo cocked his head. "Was his nose broken yesterday?"

"No." She wondered where he was going with this.

"Oh. Well, I just wondered, cause anyone with a decent one should smell the courting mark Lord Sesshomaru placed this morning."

Kagome burst out laughing at the look of horror on Char's face. "I believe my pelt disrupts the scent. Perhaps I should shift it to the other shoulder," she snickered, the fur crawling around Shippo, making him giggle.

"My lady, I," the kitsune swallowed thickly, "apologize for my actions."

Kagome hummed softly, continuing to heal the broken rib so it no longer floated and wouldn't cause more damage. "Good manners dictate that when a lady tells you they are not interested, it is hardly polite to continue to pursue and flirt with them the next day. A no is a no, good Char. It is not an invitation to continue your pursuit, nor something to be interpreted as a soft maybe."

His lashes lowered, embarrassment a red wash through his cheeks. "Forgive me, my lady. It is a fox's nature to hunt a powerful female."

"And it is in a dog's to kill foxes who step out of place. Remember who my intended is." She stood and walked away, knowing this warning would take. "He will need another day in the infirmary, Fen, before you can release him. As long as he stays still."

"Very good, milady. I have a list of herbs begun if you'd like to peruse it before we start gathering?" He motioned toward the makeshift desk in the corner.

Kagome lowered to the seat behind it and read her way down the list before reaching for the brush and inkstone. She quickly added more, things she knew were good for fevers and infection, then began to make notes beside the others. 

"Gather these during a full moon. It makes their properties more potent. While this one," she tapped a long claw beside it, "needs to be gathered at sunrise when the dew lays heavy on the leaves. And this," she pointed to the last item added, "is grown by a horse hanyou called Jinenji. His farm is closer to the north than east, but I can place it on a map."

"You remember Jinenji?" Shippo grinned.

"Must be a healer thing," Kagome smiled. Her little kit giggled as he poked around the healer's desk.

"We know Jinenji," Fen smiled. "His herbs are sought after and well paid for after he saved the life of Miss Rin."

Kagome blinked. "He did?"

"He did?" Shippo echoed.

Evidently, it was news to both of them.

"She was quite young; before you joined the Lord's pack. A bad fever took her, and the Lord wrapped her up and flew off. When they returned, she was healthy as ever. He commanded Mako to go to the farm and learn what the hanyou cultivated to see if it could be of use to the West. We have bought or bartered with Jinenji since."

"That's wonderful!" Kagome exclaimed. Jinenji, she knew, was a sweet, kind, timid hanyou who lived with his mother, raising the plants his father left as his birthright. Kagome knew she'd spent time when permitted learning from him and retrieving needed medicine, but outside of those encounters, she recalled little else.

"Now, is there a reason for us to harvest these herbs at these times?" Fen asked, pointing to her notes.

They sat and talked for a few more minutes about what and why and how, Kagome delving into full teacher mood, relating her knowledge, though where she'd acquired it was still a mystery before the presence at the door caused her to look up.

Kentaro approached only after she noticed him, coming closer to bow before her. "Lady Kagome. The Lord requests your presence with the Generals and asked that I escort you to their location."

"Mm." Kagome rose, leaving Fen with the last of her instructions before nodding to the other healer's apprentices and falling in step with Kentaro.

"You have extensive knowledge, my lady. It is impressive and most timely as we are now without a healer."

She glanced at the strange youkai, wondering if his comment was implying something deeper than its meaning, but his face was calm, serene even, as it had been since she met him. 

The male was as tall as Sesshomaru with hair black as soot that swung heavily against his thighs. When he noticed her study, he glanced down at her with eyes of silver-blue ice. Though broader of feature than Sesshomaru, he was no less handsome, albeit in a subtler fashion, and the mark that decorated his face was a simple half circle filled in by gold. 

"You're an inu," blurted from her lips, causing Kagome to blush and Shippo, now snuggled in her arms, to snicker. "My apologies. I didn't pay attention yesterday."

"No offence taken. You were rather preoccupied at the time. Yes, I am a golden inu on my father's side. My mother, however, is a painted inu from a faraway land. You see, my father travelled, exploring the continent and all its adjoining lands, creating trade routes to increase the House of the Moon's wealth. I am a cousin of Lord Sesshomaru on his mother's side."

"Hence your mark," Kagome smiled.

"Exactly," he chuckled. "And my dark hair was my mother's contribution, rather than the pale gold of the rest of my family, to her everlasting annoyance."

She chuckled as they came to a covered walkway. "Shippo, I smell Rin that way. Why don't you join her for a while."

"Okay, Mama!" He hopped up and kissed her cheek before running off. 

"You are the kit's mother?" Kentaro asked, sniffing delicately. 

"Not by birth but circumstance. His mother died when he was younger, and his father was killed shortly before Shippo found me. We've been together ever since. He's agreed to go through formal adoption with me."

"A blood rite!" he gasped. "You honour his family, my lady!"

"He honours mine by agreeing," she smiled. "Sesshomaru is willing to help us." Kagome threw a mischievous smirk his way. "I'm not sure I believe you are actually related to Sesshomaru. You are far too expressive for this family."

He laughed, as she hoped he would, leading her down a series of corridors. "Different upbringings, I suppose."

"Ooh, does that mean you can tell me stories of what he was like as a tiny puppy?" she giggled.

"I could if I didn't fear for my life should he find out."

"I'd protect you," she promised.

Kentaro chuckled and motioned for the waiting servant to get the door. "I shall think about it."

"Think about what?" Sesshomaru asked the moment Kagome stepped into the room.

She took in those gathered and tilted her head in acknowledgement. "Gentlemen. My Lord."

Sesshomaru's brow lifted minutely as he held out his hand, bidding her join him at the large table. 

She admired him as she crossed the room. Gone were the vibrant white silks of their travelling days. Now he wore three layers of complementary blues with the lightest against his skin. The final outer kimono was dark like the deepest sea, emphasized by the pattern of waves upon its hem and tossed haphazardly across his back. 

She took his hand with a smile and stepped into his side, unsurprised when their two pelts twined together. "I sought to tease your cousin into telling puppy tales about you, my lord, but he is ever the loyalist."

"Mm," Sesshomaru hummed before looking at Kentaro. "To hold fast against your whiles, Intended, he must be truly loyal."

She shivered at the way _ Intended _ rolled off his tongue but said nothing as Kentaro beamed proudly. 

"It is difficult indeed to deny one who can use her jewel-bright eyes to beg with, but my willpower is still strong, my lord," Kentaro smirked.

"Indeed," Sesshomaru drawled. "We are not here to discuss your loyalty, cousin, something this Sesshomaru has never doubted, but to ascertain what you, Miko, can tell us of these weapons."

Kagome watched as a five tailed fox upended her bucket from yesterday on the table. The shards skidded across the map of Nippon haphazardly, one arrow careening dangerously close to the edge. 

In an instant, the silver weapons were bright pink slivers shooting outward from a single point of light, pierced by an arrow shot from her bow. A crow youkai was screaming in the distance, but a voice near to hand was yelling in outrage. 

The voice made her head pound as she shook off the memory in time to see the large bull youkai lift his hand to stop the arrow's course, causing Kagome to cry out, "Do not!" 

He pulled his hand away, leaving the arrow dangling, rocking gently on the edge, a scowl on his face.

"Forgive me, General," she soothed. "But the weapons remain toxic with their curse. One nick, one cut, one small prick, and you will become infected. We would not wish to fight such an imposing youkai as yourself," she placated.

"Hm. Indeed," the bull preened, his ego well-stroked.

"How is it you can see that which seven formidable youkai cannot?" asked a young, dark inu. 

Kagome took in his face and a small furrow formed between her brows. "I… know you." 

It wasn't flashes of images or a slow unfurling of memory, but one long, static moment in which the dark inu with his flashing yellow eyes looked shocked at the tentacle sticking through his chest. The tentacle was attached to a male youkai with black hair and red eyes whose cruel smile made her blood run cold.

The memory faded with a gasp as Kagome bent over the table, braced on both hands. 

“Miko?!”

She’d never heard that urgency enter into Sesshomaru’s voice before and closed her eyes, forcing back the emotion dripping like ice through her veins. “A moment,” she choked out. “Please.”

He gave it to her but not bent over the table, allowing the others to view her weakness. He swung her around, into his chest, hiding her from curious, prying eyes with the thickness of his mokomoko. 

She laid her hands on his chest, feeling the gentle vibration of his comforting growl and allowed herself one minute to shake against him as she fought to push aside the disturbing vision. Long fingers squeezed gently, claws lightly pressing into her waist. Kagome took a deep breath and reached up to lay her hand on his cheek. 

Golden eyes held the questions he refused to give voice, but Kagome understood them anyway. She took a deep breath, let her fingers skate lightly over his markings and down the side of his throat, combing lightly through his pelt before nodding.

She stepped around him, unsurprised when he moved with her, keeping her close to him with the arm around her waist. "Forgive me," she said softly, her smile a little wry. "My memories return as they choose. This last was disturbing."

Her gaze flicked to the Inu at the end of the table. "You are General Shin, yes?"

He appeared surprised before bowing to her. "I am, Lady."

"You took a terrible blow. A tentacle from a," she swallowed thickly, hand coming up to grip Sesshomaru's around her waist, "evil being."

Sesshomaru's arm tightened, his body hard at her back. "You remember the spider hanyou?"

"Is that what he was?" she asked.

"Among other things," he murmured.

Something about the set of his jaw worried her. "Sesshomaru?"

"Hm." He dismissed it as nothing with a flick of his hand. "You healed Shin of his impalement, then chastised him to become faster." The others snickered, though Sesshomaru only tilted the corner of his mouth up at his joke. 

"This is true, Lady," Shin grinned. "My men gave me grief for a solid moon afterward."

She chuckled and flicked two tails, the third curled around Sesshomaru's ankle, out of view of prying eyes. "Well, have you gotten faster?"

Shin's grin grew big enough to show off his fangs. "I have."

"Mm. Perhaps we shall have to find out one day during a spar," she teased. 

He bowed again. "I would be honoured, Lady," he murmured, though his eyes darted to Sesshomaru. "As long as Lord Sesshomaru will allow it."

"Under supervision," Sesshomaru stated, ending the banter.

"She did not answer the question." 

Kagome blinked at the red-headed youkai. He stirred no memories within her, but she knew that meant nothing. 

"Watch your tone, Jalna," the Daiyoukai growled.

"I don't know why I can see the evil embedded in these blades," Kagome offered, soothing the perturbed Inu at her back by petting his wrist. "Perhaps it has something to do with what I was before. Perhaps it's what the Kami willed. Maybe it's just a quirk of my new nature, but I know all of that-" she waved her hand at the table, "- is poisoned. It's tainted by something so inherently evil, just touching it can bring death."

"Is there anything you can tell us about who attacked us?" the five tail fox asked. “I am General Manto, my lady, should your memory need assistance.”

He fanned out his tails, the white tips each twitching, making her wonder if he was attempting to intimidate her. Something told her she'd long ago lost that ability.

Kagome ignored his posturing and reached out to pick up an arrow by its broken shaft. A quick pulse of purification, and it no longer glowed with malice. She threw it to the kitsune. "You tell me. I do not know the maker's marks."

Manto bobbled the weapon before catching it, hissing when her retreating power singed his fingertips. He checked the shaft and steel of the head, turning it this way and that before shaking his head. "Nothing, my lord. Just like the others."

The Generals began to grumble amongst themselves about wasting time and how they should be tracking those who retreated.

Kagome felt decidedly incompetent, having been no help when warm breath ghosted over her ear. "Once, this one watched as you tracked a mythic artifact needed for a quest using a crystal on a chain and a map."

She inhaled sharply. "Scrying. Yes, I could try that, but it would only give you the weapons origin, not necessarily the perpetrator or who cast the spell."

"It is a start," Sesshomaru murmured.

Kagome looked up at him, the confidence in his voice also in his eyes. He believed in her. Believed she could do this, and so she would.

"General Manto, a leaf if you please?" Her request killed the conversation around the room as the males came to attention.

The fox was eyeing her funny, but Kagome only smiled. "New clothing. I've yet to replenish my supply," she explained. There hadn't been time on their journey to select quality leaves. "Or a square of paper will do," she offered when he continued to hesitate.

Leaves, much like jewels, were precious to the kitsune who gathered them. Paper, though rare, was easier to acquire than good quality spell leaves.

Manto arched a brow but drew a square of green paper from his sleeve and held out to her. "What do you intend to do with that?"

Choosing not to answer, Kagome accepted the sheet and began to fold, scribe, and twist before adding a burst of blue foxfire and pink power to her creation. When finished, the green paper was no more, and from her fingers dangled a cylindrical jade gem that tapered to a point. She then plucked two strands of hair from her head and looked expectantly at Sesshomaru. 

He arched a brow. "Hn?"

"One for the spell, one for the spell caster, and one for whom the spell is for," she explained.

As expected, he reached up and snipped a single strand of silver hair, handing it to her without further hesitation.

Kagome thanked him with her smile, then swiftly braided the three strands together, wrapping the black and silver thread around the end of the gem. Once her pendant swung evenly from between her fingers, she turned to select a chunk of broken weapon and settled on a sliver of sword.

Quietly chanting, she created a noose at the end of the tri strands and snared the tainted metal. 

"Step back," Kagome commanded as she held her newly formed tool away from the table and brought a hand full of holy power to light above it.

All but Sesshomaru stepped away as she set her hand on the surface and cleansed the weapons of their taint. A glance at Sesshomaru had him motioning to his men to clear the mess away.

They complied quickly, and Kagome lightly jumped to the tabletop where she closed her eyes, held out her scrying tool, and began to swing it, murmuring words that came to her out of the dark recesses of her mind.

When the jade began to tug and pull, she followed on light feet, nearly dancing out of the western lands, following the pull east and then north over the ever-changing landscape beneath her feet and across the Tsugaru Strait. The gem swung and bobbed before dipping down, pulling the braid through her fingers, causing the broken piece of metal to draw dangerously close to her hand before the jade clunked against the surface of the table.

"Here. The weapon originated here," she murmured, standing over a mountain range in the far north.

They gathered closer as Kagome cleansed the metal shard and used foxfire to burn the bespelled strands of their hair to something less than ash and blow the dust to the wind. The piece of jade she tucked away in case she found a use for it later.

Sesshomaru offered a hand, drawing her to him before lifting her down, keeping a possessive hand at her waist. 

Feeling pumped from the magic, Kagome played a little trick as she listened to the Generals and Kentaro discuss what was once the lands of the dragons but had lain dormant since the time of Ryūkotsusei. 

She had a flash of a youkai trapped in rock, a large dragon encased in a cliff, but nothing more and instead continued playing her little prank as she had no more to contribute to the conversation. She twined her mokomoko with Sesshomaru's and used her tails to gently lash around his legs, touching just enough to distract him from what happened on his shoulder. 

Bored by the arguing of his men and happy with her accomplishments, Kagome turned into him, claws stroking his chest, keeping him distracted as she rose on her toes to run her nose under his chin and lick lightly along his jaw. 

"If you will excuse me, my lord, I will check on Rin and Shippo. Find me in the gardens if you need anything."

He rumbled, mildly distracted by her antics though he attempted to focus on what the Generals were saying. "When we finish, Miko," he murmured, gently nuzzling her hair.

Kagome smirked as she pulled away, catching the matching one of Manto and shooting him a wink. The sly fox showed fang when his grin widened as Kagome made it to the door before stopping long enough to stroke her hand down her now white mokomoko.

Sesshomaru's head snapped up, his eyes narrowed, and he zeroed in on her leaving with his mokomoko before lowering to find her black pelt curled lovingly around his shoulder.

"Vixen," he grumbled, turning back to his men, causing Kagome to laugh and swing her hips as she walked away.


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: drama, action, angst, all the smut

* * *

Sesshomaru's patience wore thin by the time he dismissed his Generals. Jalna and Bankotu skirted the line with their suspicious inquiries, but he held his temper. They were not familiar with Kagome when she was but a Miko. That she used reiki and youki like interchangeable mediums disconcerted them. They were not aware of how she could use her power to brush one's skin like the warmest of caresses or channel it into healing a youkai. They did not know her kind heart or gentle spirit to which Shin, Manto, and Praveen could attest.

That they were wary of a being stronger than them, especially such a unique little inu-kitsune, was commendable. That suspicious nature had kept them alive through their long years.

However, as Alpha and Lord of the West, they should trust him to know what constituted a danger. He would never willfully bring harm to the West or its people. That he'd allowed her to leave with his mokomoko should have eased their minds.

Not just anyone would be granted such trust. And, as she'd left hers with him, they should understand she trusted him in kind. He could easily destroy half her strength, as she could his, with little more than a swipe of acid claws.

They bowed as he dismissed the group, each leaving to see to their duties, all but Manto, who waited until the shoji shut, ensuring their privacy.

"Speak." Sesshomaru had a tricky female to hunt.

"She is not what she shows to the others," Manto murmured, keeping his voice from carrying.

Sesshomaru narrowed his gaze. "You cast doubt on this one's Intended?"

Manto bowed his head, his neck bared. "I do, but not because I believe her a threat." 

"Explain." The submission was the only reason Manto yet retained his head.

"The spell she worked was at a level far above the capability of a three tail kitsune."

He dismissed Manto with a flick of a wrist. "This one has witnessed the Lady Kagome scry for an item as a human. It is of no concern." Perhaps the kitsune were less powerful than Sesshomaru had been led to believe.

"No, my Lord, not that. Anyone with holy power and training can scry for an object. It was the creation of the jade stone. That is not possible for a three-tail, not to manifest one of live jade. At best, I expected a paper rock that would disintegrate upon completing the spell, but she surprised me. I could feel the magic in the stone. It is a powerful talisman."

Intrigued, Sesshomaru didn't show it. "And what would you have this one do? Confront her?"

"No, my Lord. I am not so foolish as to suggest that. If she is Kami touched as it appears, they have bid her hide her power for a reason. But, perhaps it would be best if she did not perform such magic tricks in public in the future."

Manto bowed deeply and left at Sesshomaru's nod, leaving the Daiyoukai with a puzzle he now needed to solve.

A quiet throat cleared. 

He glanced at Jaken, the kappa arriving discreetly through the opposite door.

"It is done," Jaken murmured.

"All of them?"

"Yes, milord."

"Hn." He tilted his head. "Have the rooms cleaned. They will be repurposed as mid-level guest quarters." The harem's furniture and art would create the feeling of luxury and honour without insulting a more important guest with its past purpose.

"It will be done, milord."

A smirk pulled at his lips. Finally, he was rid of Leena. "The charm?"

"Worked as reported, milord. When Leena left, she did so free of your scent. She was… cross."

Sesshomaru's smile grew. How delightful. "Hn." He dismissed the kappa with a nod and went in search of a tricky female. 

As he walked, Sesshomaru carded his fingers through her pelt, teasing her as she had so ruthlessly teased him for half an hour after leaving before, apparently, being distracted. He did not know what had grabbed her attention so wholly but would find out.

He followed her soft scent into the private garden where low-cut grass spread out like a carpet between red-leafed maples and towering pines. Branch weeping willows hugged the pretty lakeshore fed by mountain runoff before a small stream broke against a stone creek bed that led away from the Shiro and down into the village. Flower beds dotted the landscape, some worked and cultivated by the gardener's sure hands, others - more wild and free - created over time by Rin. But where he expected to find laughter, excitement, perhaps the Miko chasing the kit and playing with Rin, no noise broke the peaceful tranquillity.

He had a moment of concern before her scent and gentle aura called out to him. Sesshomaru followed the leading thread to the base of a large Sakura tree where Kagome sat on a colourful blanket, a few plates with food, and a pot of tea on a stand beside her. Tani waited near the tea, watching over her mistress as a good servant should. At rest, wrapped in one of her tails was Shippo, while Kagome and Rin laboured over wooden lap desks. 

Rin, he could tell, worked diligently at her lessons, but the basket of scrolls at Kagome's hip had him curious. Still, he took her in before speaking. 

Somewhat swamped by his pelt, the white fur engulfed Kagome, rising behind her head like a fluffy cloud. One end looped around her shoulder, while the other covered her feet, keeping her warm.

She was radiant—a stunning addition to his house.

"Miko." The word came out much softer and with more affection than intended, but he found he could not mind when she sat there, lovely as anything growing in his garden. 

She looked up and smiled, her hand lifting to flit gently over his mokomoko. "Is your meeting finished, my Lord?"

It took years for her to call him that, and as with Miko for her, respect was there - implied - even when her voice included a teasing lit as it did currently. 

His beast went belly up in bliss when she spoke to him that way. 

The first time she used it after becoming pack, he knew he had her respect, the tone respectful and full of gratitude, but within a week, the teasing edge appeared. It was then he knew he had her loyalty. 

She teased because she knew she could get away with it. 

"Hn," he nodded in response to her question. "What is this?"

He stalked closer as she picked a scroll and held it up. The parchment crackled under his fingers as he pulled the ribbon free and carefully read the message. 

"Are they all of this nature? he asked.

"Yup."

He arched a brow. Whose idea was it to bring her the scrolls meant for the Western Lady regarding the running of his Shiro? Not that he minded, but she spent yesterday healing his army, last night fighting a horde of undead, and this morning looking after the wounded. If she kept on this way, she would wear herself thin.

"I was bored!" she huffed, rubbing her cheek on mokomoko before pouting, "Jaken said I could."

When she caressed his pelt, it was like the memory of a touch raced through him, pleasant, sensual, but so light it felt like a spectre brushed his spine. He thought only of revenge when he raised his hand to hers and lightly raked his claws through the fur.

Her eyes narrowed even as she shivered. "Do you mind?"

He wasn’t sure if she meant the words as a reprimand for his teasing or over the scrolls and chose not to answer. Instead, he shot a look at the servant, who instantly rose and gathered the half-finished plates to return them to the keep. Then, he shifted his attention to Rin and down to Shippo. 

The girl, well versed in his silence, rose and collected the boy - the kit remaining asleep - before she smiled and said, "This Rin will take a walk." 

Mina, her maid, appeared like a phantom from nearby to follow Rin as she left.

Kagome said nothing, her eyes on him as the others departed, leaving them alone with the tea and parchment. She arched an amused brow before collecting her papers, moving the lap desk aside, and holding out a delicate hand. "Perhaps you would honour this Kagome with a turn around the gardens?"

Sesshomaru assisted her to her feet, his free hand going to her waist to hold her near. His eyes half-lidded as he sought her scent, the tell-tale blending of them both present in the mark upon her flesh. 

Every fibre of his being demanded he finish what he started, but he was not a century-old pup without discipline. At nearly a thousand years of age, he would endure their courtship with grace and dignity.

As such, he lowered his head to brush his cheek over hers. "Tricky little Miko."

She chuckled and brushed her nose along his jaw. "Just how you like me."

"Indeed." 

He tucked her hand at his elbow and led them away from her blanket, taking her deeper into the gardens. These were for the pack's private use, resulting in a lack of prying eyes or listening ears. Still, he led a meandering course until they arrived, where the water tumbled down a series of falls from a break in the mountain.

There, he cast out his youki, creating a barrier that deadened the sound of falling water and would keep what they said from travelling even to the most sensitive of ears.

She threw him an amused look before sending a secondary barrier of reiki to buzz pleasantly just inside his of youki. "If you want to be certain of privacy."

He growled, lids growing heavy in response. It was like being groomed with teeth in his true form, the way it itched over his skin. Red bled into his vision, her scent suddenly much more robust.

"Maru."

Soft hands on his face. Claws sliding through his hair. Delicate fingers traced the length of his ear. His nose found her neck as he pulled her close, tight to him, his hands almost bruising on her waist.

"What are you?" he asked once some of the mating fever disappeared beneath her gentleness.

"What do you mean?"

There was no deception, no attempt to redirect him in her words or scent, just honest confusion. 

His grip softened as Sesshomaru lifted his head. 

Guileless. Innocent. Pure. Those were the words he associated with her. But, he also trusted Manto's assessment. 

"No three-tail has the kind of power you displayed," he murmured, cupping her cheek. "Do you not trust me, Kagome?"

She paled. "Of course I trust you!" Then she sighed and leaned into his hand. "I wanted to tell you, but they said not to until you asked. It's supposed to be a secret."

"What is a secret?"

She drew away, her mokomoko once again on her shoulder and his back where it belonged. How she accomplished that - twice - without his knowledge, he was determined to figure out, but now was not the time. 

Blue fox fire ignited around her, setting her tails snapping. Then, white light burst blindingly bright from behind her, causing Sesshomaru to squint. When the spots faded, three knew tails joined the ones she already had, making her a six-tail inu-kitsune. 

"How?" he asked, closing the distance between them. "How have you hidden them?"

"It's not hard, really," she shrugged. "Twine two together, add a smidgen of illusion. No one really notices."

"Hn." The new tails shone with the blue of her true form, causing the sun to catch in the fur and make them glimmer like a sparkle of light across the dark sea.

"Are you… angry?" 

He looked sharply at her, realizing he had said nothing for some time as he'd studied this surprising revelation. The worry apparent in her bitten lip, Sesshomaru took her chin in hand and leaned closer to rub his cheek against hers. "This one was admiring his intended."

Sweet colour warmed her cheeks, and he liked that, occasionally, he could still pull such a reaction out of her. 

Kagome had always been quick to blush as a human, but Kitsune and Inu females were not the type to blush. If they did, it was usually contrived, a weapon used in the moment to draw in an unaware male, but Kagome's was not false. Her pleasure at his compliment, the genuine reaction, made him feel more powerful than all his years as a Daiyoukai.

"You are the most magnificent female this one has ever known," he murmured. "Three tails or six changes not my desire for you."

"I knew it wouldn't, but they insisted. Three-tails would be looked at with a passing glance and underestimated. Six would cause those who work in the shadows to stay there."

"Work in the shadows?" Did she know more than she was letting on?

But Kagome shook her head. "I'm sorry. I don't remember any more than that. Just that I was to protect myself by hiding three tails." Then she frowned, the furrow between her brows somehow adorable. "Can you feel me? My aura?"

Sesshomaru arched a brow. "Yes. More so now with all six tails. Why?"

"Shippo said most youkai read me as… blank until I actively use my power."

"Likely. You are exceedingly powerful. Only those with equal or more power will adequately understand the depth of your strength. But it was much the same before. You simply did not control your aura as you do now. That is a youkai trait." 

"I see." Her tails curled around her and, in turn, him. "Did you and your Generals decide on what to do?"

"We have." He captured one and slowly let it pull through his fingers.

"And?"

"We will send a few scouts to see what can be found in the north and another party to hunt those that fled. Perhaps fortune will smile on us." 

Even as the words left his mouth, Sesshomaru felt the change sweep through his home. Youki flared concern, then caution, then anger before thrumming like a beacon. 

He turned to respond, knowing a call to return would come swiftly, but paused to take in Kagome. "Come, Intended. We are needed."

Her eyes lit up with joy, her tails flashed into three, and suddenly her aura was much diminished. 

Interesting.

He held out his hand, Kagome's fingers slipped into his with ease, and together they returned to the keep.

Servants were rushing like frightened fowl when they returned until Sesshomaru let out a massive wave of youki that calmed and assured everyone he would see to the trouble and deal with it. Serenity resumed, and Jaken appeared at a run. 

"Oh, Great Lord! It is terrible! Just terrible!" the kappa wailed.

"What is?" asked Kagome.

"The Lord of the East and his pack were attacked. They've come far seeking help. Many are injured."

"Injured how?" Sesshomaru demanded, following Jaken back to the grand hall and front of the keep where he could feel the largest youkai gathering.

"The same as us," Jaken murmured. 

Kagome gasped and released his hand to grab the arm of a passing servant and drag the Sitka along with her, giving immediate orders to have them ready the infirmary and let them know there would be another influx of wounded.

As she fell behind, Sesshomaru glared down at Jaken. "Is _ he _ here?"

"The Wolf Prince of the East leads his people."

Sesshomaru fought not to growl. There would be no avoiding their reunion and no way to keep Kagome away from Koga without her growing suspicious. He didn't like the idea of them coming face to face, but he didn't know what else to do. 

Finally, he decided the best course of action was to do nothing. Koga had left before Kagome's death. Perhaps in his wolf stupidity, he wouldn't recognize her.

He rolled his eyes upward at his foolish thought. Of course, the wolf would recognize her. Koga may be an idiot, but he had a strong sense of smell. 

Still, Sesshomaru paused to wait for her as she gave the last of her instructions to the hovering servants. They raced off to do her bidding, and Sesshomaru gently brushed her pelt back, allowing his claim to breathe life into the aura around her. 

She arched a brow but accepted his offered arm, allowing him to lead her into the Hall where Koga and his contingent of wolves waited.

Kagome inhaled sharply, but it wasn't recognition in her eyes but pity when he looked at her. The wolves were a ragged group.

"Sesshomaru!"

The voice caused him to grit his teeth before Jaken screeched, "That is Lord of the West, the Great Alpha, Sesshomaru of the House of the Moon to whom you speak, wolf! Show your respect in his home."

Koga growled at the kappa as he pushed himself away from his pack brothers. "There is no time for formalities! My kin were attacked! Decimated! _ Slaughtered! _"

Kagome's fingers flexed on his arm, but she said nothing.

"This one's lands have also known violence in his absence, but we stay to rebuild and track down those who perpetrated the act. Why are you here?" Sesshomaru asked without inflection.

"You're not hearing me! It's all gone!" the wolf roared.

Kagome shifted to stand at his side. "What is all gone?"

Silence fell as Koga, and the rest, focused on Kagome for the first time.

"Sis?" Ginta murmured.

Kagome blinked. "Do I know you?"

Koga turned slowly back to Sesshomaru. "What did you do to her? What foul magic is this! What did you do!" He launched himself at Sesshomaru but made it no farther than half the distance when he slammed into a sparkling pink barrier. 

"I do not know you, wolf, but threaten my alpha at your peril!" Kagome snarled, her eyes tinting red. 

Koga stared at her in shock. "Kagome?"

"Sis, it's us," another wolf said, coming forward to pick his leader off the ground.

"While this reunion is touching," Sesshomaru intoned, "it is not why you are here. Explain or leave."

Koga never took his eyes off Kagome, who remained serene under the scrutiny as he spoke. "We returned to the East after the final battle to find dens abandoned, homes in disarray, and piles of bodies rotting. Wolves, women, pups. None escaped. We followed a trail to the high pass and found what was left of the Silver, Forest, and River packs gathered in the caves. They were terrified. They spoke of the dead rising to kill and maim, and those injured, dying from little more than scratches to rise and do the same."

Kagome's grip tightened. "Have you wounded among you? Ones who've had contact with the animated dead?"

Koga gave a sharp nod. "Have you a way to stop them turning?"

"I do." She looked up at him. "With your permission, my lord."

"Granted, Intended," Sesshomaru murmured, releasing her from his arm. He shot a telling look at his cousin, waiting quietly in the shadows. 

Kentaro bowed his head and followed Kagome out of the room.

"What the fuck, Sesshomaru?" Koga snarled.

"Do not overstep yourself, wolf," he growled. "You come with a request for sanctuary, do you not?" Sesshomaru smirked a small grin and walked away, motioning the wolf prince to follow. Such conversations were not meant to be had in public.

Ginta and Hakkaku followed along while Jaken hurried ahead and swept open the door to a meeting room already prepared with tea. 

Sesshomaru glided around the table and sat, waiting for Koga to join him.

The wolf flopped without grace across from him, but Sesshomaru suspected that it was exhaustion and not intended to be rude.

"What the hell is wrong with Kagome?"

"Nothing but a lack of memories. Jaken." The kappa hurried to pour the tea. 

"She's not human any longer!" Koga snarled.

"No. She is not." Sesshomaru blinked at the wolf and picked up the cup Jaken set before him, waiting for Koga to do the same. 

The wolf sighed but accepted and held it with both hands. 

Another smirk twitched Sesshomaru's lips. "We offer Koga, Wolf Prince of the East, the hospitality of our land. May you rest well in the House of the Moon."

"With gratitude do I accept your hospitality, Great Alpha, and do so swear to respect the House of the Moon and the people of the West while the wolves of the East reside here." Koga tossed back the tea and smacked the cup on the table as Sesshomaru sipped delicately. "Cut the crap, dog. What the fuck?"

"Jaken."

Jaken told an embellished tale of Kagome's sacrifice, her wish, and disappearance in flowery prose and praise. He went on about finding the much-changed Miko in her den and her loss of memory.

"But milord is the greatest of us all and in his majesty was the first of us the gracious Lady Kagome remembered. Then her kit, but I was third! Oh, she is such a bright spot of joy and so powerful! She makes an incredible Western Lady-"

"Jaken." The kappa stopped talking.

Koga's scowl had darkened. "You claimed her without allowing her memories to return!"

"A mark of intention. She is and has always been this one's alpha female. Only her humanity parted us."

The wolf deflated. "Guess you're better than inu-baka," he grumbled. "At least you respect her."

"She does not remember him. We prefer to keep it that way."

Blue eyes narrowed. "Afraid she'll leave you?"

Sesshomaru glared. "Memories of InuYasha cause her pain."

Koga's eyes widened. "No shit?"

"Hn." What was it with these inelegant yokels? It was a term Kagome explained to him, and while it was a genuinely odd word, it fit Koga well.

"Guess you'd rather we didn't bring him up?"

"Hm," Sesshomaru nodded. "The Kami expressed that her memories would return as they were meant to, not before." He sipped the last of his tea. "Your mate?"

"Ayame led the others to the high caves. She's safe. Many others… aren't."

"Our agreement from the final battle stands. The West will ally with you to avenge your lands. This Sesshomaru has already sent scouts north, where one who knows tracked the origin of the weapons of those who attacked us."

"Seems we've got a common enemy again," Koga grinned.

"So it seems. Jaken will see you, your mate, and your guard settled in the keep. "The rest-"

"Will be fine in the forest. Long as the wounded can be fixed up, the walking dead, they only last the night before dying for good, but just one can wreak havoc and do a lot of damage. Nothin' but beheading stops them."

"And holy powers."

"Fucking ridiculous. An inu-kitsune Miko. Only the kami would do something like that," Koga shook his head.

"Indeed." Sesshomaru was still trying to figure out for what purpose.

***

Kagome worked tirelessly, Kentaro again acting as her shadow and assistant while a wolf with red hair and an iris behind her ear kept pace, calming and comforting as they went. The female kept looking at her with suspicion and disbelief, but Kagome paid her no mind. She didn't have time to waist on one irate female when the red taint infected half their wounded. 

"My lady, if you don't rest, my cousin will have my head," Kentaro grumbled. 

"And if I don't finish, we'll spend tonight like we did last night," Kagome said, keeping the bite out of her tone as she soothed an anxious wolf with three sweet puppies. 

The four-legged versions were a heck of a lot easier to deal with than the two-legged. 

She cuddled the last pup and moved on to the males, grumbling that they didn't need help. One sharp look from the redhead shut them up fast. The alpha wolf of earlier suddenly joined the female along with the betas looked at her like she should know them, but Kagome looked at them and felt nothing; she saw nothing. They meant nothing to her.

Right up until Koga took the redhead in his arms and said, "How's my woman doing?"

"Koga, I'm fine." Triumph filled this Ayame’s gaze when she shot it Kagome's way, but Kagome wasn't looking. She had one hand latched around Kentaro's arm and was breathing in rapid little gasps. 

"Lady Kagome?"

Dread filled her. She knew those words and the fight they brought and how tired she was of the conflict. They came on a whirlwind and ended in bloodshed.

"My Lady!" Kentaro gasped when she swayed into him.

"Keep him away from me," she whispered, pleading with her eyes.

"The wolf prince? Why?"

"They always fight. I don't want him to fight Sesshomaru for me."

"My lady," Kentaro murmured, keeping his voice from carrying. "Koga is mated to Ayame. Even if he wanted to, which would end with him dead, he could not. He is bound to the wolf princess. You have nothing to fear there."

"But… I remember…" She frowned. What was she remembering? It was all bits and pieces jumbled together.

Kagome shook herself free of the unsettling thoughts. "Never mind. I need to finish before the sun sets."

She hurried onward, feeling like a ghost chased her tails.

***

Kagome sat on the balcony belonging to their quarters overlooking the western city when Sesshomaru found her. She was running a soft-bristled brush over her tails, her mind wandering as he knelt behind her pillow and took the brush from her.

"You were quiet at dinner. Something vexes you?" he asked.

She cocked her head but didn't look at him. "This Koga, were he and I good friends?"

"Yes and no."

"His attention unsettles me."

"It also unsettled his mate."

Kagome flicked her gaze to his face. "Is that why she threw her subtle barbs tonight?"

She'd skirted perilously close to the border of rudeness though never overstepped their hospitality. Koga eventually warned her to be silent or go hungry, and Ayame stormed out. The entire episode upset the children enough that Kagome forwent her bath to see both her children asleep before heading to bed herself.

"Indeed." He finished with her tails and moved to brush out her hair. 

Kagome sighed in bliss. "How does he know me?"

"We were allies against Naraku."

"It is more than that. He called Ayame _ his woman, _ and I wanted to run. It upset me, he upset me, and I don't understand this… _ trepidation _ I have around him now."

Sesshomaru sighed. "Once, he was a candidate for your affection."

"Him!?" she gasped.

"Hm. Though your reaction now should ease your mind, as it is the same as before."

"He used to fight… all the time," she murmured, trying to focus until claws stroked pleasantly over her scalp. 

"You will remember in time. All you need to know is you rebuffed his affections every time he attempted to claim you. And once you became part of my pack, he gave up his pursuit."

"Why?" Kagome turned to face him and found his eyes aglow with desire and so much more. 

"Because, little Miko, you are mine. I do not care to share what I claim."

A smile twitched her lips before she rose and stole the brush from his hand to circle and kneel at Sesshomaru's back. She ran the brush down the silk length of his hair. 

"And this Ayame?"

"She has always been jealous of you."

Kagome smiled when a low, pleased rumble began to fill the room. "Always?"

"Always," he purred.

She grinned and brushed his hair, slowly working it over one shoulder, baring his neck. Once she finished the last length, she set the brush down before sliding her hands over his shoulders, his silk shirt warm from his skin. 

She wrapped her arms around him, breasts pressed to his back, and licked his neck. "Were you jealous?"

He tilted his head, giving her access to the tender cords of his neck. "No, because you had no affection for him, and he was too much a coward to challenge me."

Koga didn't seem the cowardly type, but Kagome didn't say so, not when Sesshomaru was relaxed and warm and in her arms, giving her liberty to nibble and suck all that delicate flesh.

"Would you fight for me?" she whispered, well aware of the answer.

"I would kill for you."

There was no hesitation, and that made her heart leap. "I would kill for you," she whispered and knew, suddenly, she already had. "The wind witch."

His hand closed over hers and held her still. "Yes, the final battle. You killed Kagura."

"I killed her for you. For what she tried," Kagome growled. "I would do it again."

"She is dead, and that time is best forgotten."

Kagome soothed him with her low rumble when his scent changed and grew sour with the memories. She didn't remember everything, but she remembered an attempt to force a mating between the two thanks to a powerful spell. Kagome arrived well before that time and managed to break it, but Sesshomaru had been fighting it for so long he was exhausted. Kagome had taken a few nasty wounds getting them both out of there before… before…

She shook her head before someone arrived to help.

Her fight with Kagura had been a grudge match of the worst kind.

But the stiffness had returned to his body, and Kagome wasn't having it. She stroked her fingers over his chest and scraped her teeth over his skin. "When we mate, I want my mark on you."

He groaned and relaxed back into her arms. 

"I want to bite it into your throat and make sure all can see you belong with me," she whispered in his ear before sucking the tip. 

The action strangled his purr and caused his cock to swell before her eyes. "I think my Lord likes that," she smiled.

"He does."

The admission made her grin. "Perhaps this Kagome could assist in releasing the stress of your day?"

His hand fell away as Kagome tugged open his clothing. The obi came loose, and his yukata gaped, revealing his stunning body to the moonlight. Like a statue made from marble, he was exquisite.

She spread her knees and cradled him against her, then reached around to tease her tail up his shaft.

"Kagome," fell like a prayer from his lips.

"Shh," she whispered. "I want to. Let me help you."

"Vixen," he groaned as she wrapped him tightly in her tail and began to pump with long strokes.

"Only for you," she breathed against his ear before sucking the tip.

Sesshomaru's hips bucked. 

Kagome ran her hands over him, releasing little tendrils of kitsune magic to entice and relax her male. 

"I know what you are doing, Miko," he chuckled.

"Giving to you," she smiled, worrying the dense cartilage with her teeth. "Relaxing, my lord."

His hips jumped, thrusting through the tight ring of her tail. Sensitive as they were, the friction of his cock through the fur was far more stimulating than she expected.

She nibbled the tip of his ear and listened to the wicked moan that slipped his lips. "I think I could make you come just playing with your ear. Should I try?" she whispered, biting gently.

"Kagome," he groaned.

She chuckled and bit his shoulder, never hard enough to break the skin. "I would give you pleasure, my lord," she purred, stroking him slowly with her claws, leaving small red lines in her wake that quickly disappeared. 

"You have a… vivid imagination, Vixen," he groaned, hands clenched at his side.

"I can get _ more _vivid, alpha." She released the glamour on her tails, used two to wrap his wrists, and two to caress his thighs while the final coiled behind her to help hold his weight as he relaxed fully into her.

"Miko!" Was a sharp gasp when she began to torment him anew. His breathing increased to short pants that lifted his chest beneath her hands. 

She traced the lines of dense muscles, thrilled by how he let her play, knowing very well he could free himself should he choose. Kagome returned her attention to his ear, licking and sucking, treating it to the same rhythm she worked his pulsing length.

"Let go… love," she breathed against his ear, the tension in him coiled so tight.

He came with a barked shout and explosion of seed that rained down in sharp blasts over his stomach. 

Kagome didn't stop squeezing with her tail until he appeared rung dry and gently slid the appendages away. He shivered with an aftershock at the soft caress.

She smirked, proud of the job she'd done, even as her own need throbbed between her legs. 

He sighed, causing the moonlight to glisten off the wet seed on his porcelain flesh. It smelled of musk, of rut, of wild male. 

Kagome reached down and dragged her fingers through it before bringing the salty treat to her lips and sucking greedily. 

"Vixen," Sesshomaru growled, his cock twitching where it lay softened against his stomach.

"Allow me to clean that up for you, my lord," she purred, shifting out from behind him, allowing him to rest back on his elbows.

Long dark hair cascaded like water over her shoulder as she straddled his thigh and lowered her mouth to his sticky abdomen. A low rumble sounded like distant thunder as she swept her tongue through the mess and licked him clean. Abdominals flexed and quivered, and when his cock swelled, she made quick work of licking it too.

"Teasing Vixen," he murmured.

A snap made Kagome gasp as her obi gave way, and then her yukata separated down the back, falling in two pieces over his moonlight bathed skin.

The green light receded from his fingers as she sat up and threw the ruined clothing away. "You could have asked," she grumbled. "I have a limited supply of clothing."

"An easily rectified oversight," he murmured, his eyes admiring what she laid bare before he grabbed her by the waist and lifted his thigh into her wet center. 

Kagome sighed and arched as his muscle caught and gave her such pleasure. "Maru," she whimpered, bracing against his chest as she slowly rode his thigh.

"You drip, Miko," he chuckled. "If I were to place my mouth on your sweet petals, you would drown me in their nectar."

"And you would die happy, knowing you did so at the height of my ecstasy," she teased.

He arched an amused brow and slowly sat up. "I think that is a challenge, my Miko."

She shivered with his possessive claim. "And if it were?"

Sesshomaru stood without effort, taking her with him as he headed for their bed. "Then I would accept your challenge, Ka-go-me," he crooned and laid her in the blankets. 

As his mouth journeyed south, Kagome threaded her fingers through his hair and prepared to scream herself hoarse, well aware they'd left the window open.

***

InuYasha was pissed. They'd lost Sango and Miroku's trail thanks to Kikyo's dragging feet. If he didn't know better, he would think she was _ trying _ to slow them down. She'd sure taken her sweet time getting breakfast together and packing up the camp this morning.

Still, they'd managed to find where Sango, Miroku and Kohaku camped the previous evening, and if his nose didn't lie, they were headed for the old slayer village _ now, _but he didn't get why they took this odd northern detour. 

Or he hadn't until he found Sesshomaru's scent lingering near their fire.

It made him wonder if they were seeking out his brother to switch their loyalties. Would they, like Shippo and Kagome, betray him for his asshole half-brother?

The thought of it made him both irrationality angry and sad. It seemed he was never good enough for anyone except Kikyo. She always believed in him, trusted him, and needed him.

It made him feel strong, powerful to know _ someone _ needed him. Watching Kagome train with Sesshomaru was like a slow death. Finding out she'd been lying to him to train in the future had been a knife in the back, but seeing her keep up with the demon Lord left bruises in his soul. If she didn't need his protection, what good was he?

A quiet sigh drew his attention to Kikyo asleep beside the fire. He'd managed to catch a rabbit and spit it over the fire, taking care of dinner rather than eat another terrible meal. She'd pouted about it, but she ate it, spread herself out for him to enjoy her body, and now slept like the dead. 

Up in a tree, he watched over her as he had for years now, but while she needed him, and this time together with her back and once more alive had been blissful, but he wasn't exactly a blissful kind of guy. He liked action and adventure. He didn't want to settle down. He wasn't even sure he wanted some quarter demon brat. 

He was feeling a little apathetic about the whole thing. The use of such a word had a touch of nostalgia rising in him. It was a word Kagome taught him so long ago it seemed more myth than memory, so much so he could smell her. 

His right ear twitched, and nostrils flared, and the scent came to him again. 

InuYasha sat up and leaned toward the scent, almost falling from his perch in the process. It couldn't be, but it was there. Small, diminished, but there. 

He could smell Kagome.

Without a thought for Kikyo sleeping by the fire, he jumped from the tree in the direction of what was barely notes of scent. It grew only a little stronger as he ran, but soon the smell of Rin, the Kappa, the kit, and the dragon grew, each masked by the scent of his half-brother. 

InuYasha skidded into the small clearing next to a little creek and dropped to all fours, his nose twitching and ears turning as he sniffed his way around the place. He found the tree Sesshomaru spent the night against, and there was something there, but his asshole brother's stink was too strong. He continued, finding Shippo and Rin, Jalen and Ah-Un. 

Then, near the water, he found it. A rag like the ones Kagome always used for bathing lay crumpled up and forgotten against the rocks, and he picked it up. Her scent was like a breath of fresh air, calm and sweet and so saturated with pure power it made him salivate. 

At one point, he'd planned on having all that sweetness to himself. Now, he was simply pissed off because her scent wasn't some old, faded, washed-out aroma. 

It was fresh. 

Kagome wasn't dead, and Sesshomaru had lied to them all. What trickery they used, he didn't know, but this was her. He knew her scent like he knew his own. 

Had Sango and Miroku known? Were they in on whatever the plan was? Was the jewel really gone? Had Kohaku been alive all this time? Did Kagome even make a wish?

He clenched the rag in his fist and growled softly. They would pay for this deceit; all of them would. And if the jewel was still intact, he would have his wish. No one, not Kagome, not Sesshomaru, would stop him a second time.

With a new purpose in mind, he returned to his camp where Kikyo lay sleeping and settled in for the night. Tomorrow, they would make haste for the West.


End file.
